Like a scene out of Grand Theft Auto, a teenager on a dirt bike led police on a high-speed chase before he ran out of options and attempted to hide inside a trash can. Sadly for him, there were already plenty of cameras recording his escapade from the sky, so it didn’t long before the cops cuffed him. Worse, he chose to go on his joyride on his birthday, which he’ll now have to spend in jail.
Rider leads police on high-speed chase throughout Los Angeles
On August 19, 19-year-old Christian Fuentes was arrested and charged with evading police and vandalism after Los Angeles police pursued him upon receiving a report of someone wielding a firearm while riding in public, according to KTLA and ABC7.
Investigators said that the wild hour-long chase began close to Dodger Stadium, near Blake Avenue and Cabot Street, and continued through the city streets in downtown Los Angeles and later the South L.A. area.
Footage of the chase shows Fuentes on a stolen dirt bike running red lights, veering dangerously close to other vehicles, speeding on the wrong side of the road, and knocking off one car’s side-view mirror. He attempted to use his cellphone as well, texting and calling someone while maneuvering through the streets.
While he was able to evade the police for much of the chase, the teen knew that his dirt bike was running out of fuel. In the middle of the pursuit, he stopped at a gas station in Florence and had to flee from police with the gas pump still attached to his bike. He then headed through a park in West Rancho Dominguez, picking up what looked like a gallon of fuel planted by an accomplice and pouring it into his bike’s tank.
However, the vehicle eventually ran out of gas, forcing him to ditch it in Inglewood and run into the backyards of multiple homes. While hopping over fences, he appeared to sustain an injury as he looked for a place to hide, eventually tucking himself inside a blue recycle bin.
Suffice it to say, the police found him, drew their guns, and ordered him to come out of the trash with his hands up. He surrendered and was arrested without further incident. Fuentes was booked into the Los Angeles County jail with no bond.
