1 caught, 1 escapes after pursuit through south Orange County cities

One man was in custody and another got away on foot after leading Orange County sheriff’s deputies on a pursuit in a stolen truck through several south Orange County cities early Friday, Sept. 27, authorities said.

Orange County deputies received a call just before 3:40 a.m. about an attempted theft of an ATM in the 26000 block of Crown Valley Parkway in Mission Viejo, sheriff’s Lt. Wayne Rehnelt said.

The caller gave deputies a description of a logo seen on the truck. Deputies contacted the owner of the company and found the truck had been stolen out of San Clemente and that it had a tracking device, Rehnelt said.

Deputies found the truck in Mission Viejo and attempted to pull it over, but the suspects fled.

The pursuit lasted 20 minutes and led deputies through Mission Viejo and Lake Forest before ending with a crash at the Jeffrey Road off-ramp from the I-5 in Irvine, Rehnelt said.

During the pursuit, the passenger at one point got out of the truck and attempted to flee on foot but was captured. The driver fled into an apartment complex following the crash.

“We set up a perimeter, but he eluded our capture,” Rehnelt said.