Kern County kidnapping suspect arrested after wild chase, hours-long standoff

PALMDALE, Calif. -- An armed kidnapping suspect was taken into custody following an hours-long standoff at an apartment complex after the suspect led California Highway Patrol officers on a high-speed chase from Central to Southern California at Thursday.

The chase started in Kern County just after 5:00 pm. The suspect in a Prius traveled at high speeds south on the 14 Freeway, at times hitting close to 100 mph.

At one point, the vehicle got off the freeway and headed into residential neighborhoods in Palmdale, California, continuing at high speeds on surface streets.

One officer collided with another vehicle during the pursuit.

At one point, the suspect appeared to have trapped himself in a cul-de-sac. An officer performed a PIT maneuver, which spun the vehicle out at the end of the cul-de-sac. But the suspect spun the Prius back around and bypassed the law enforcement vehicle and headed back out the cul-de-sac.

A few minutes later, the suspect stopped at an apartment complex and two people exited the vehicle. It appeared the passenger was a woman who may have been the alleged kidnapping victim. Upon exiting the vehicle, she immediately held her hands up and got on the ground as deputies approached.

The suspect, carrying a bag in his hands, fled into the apartment complex.

Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies, who had taken over the pursuit, followed the suspect into the residential building amid reports he may have been armed with a sawed-off shotgun.

Officers surrounded the building and it appeared a barricade situation was developing.

As they worked to convince the suspect to surrender, the building's exterior sprinklers went off and deputies were working with building management to get them turned off. Officials say the suspect's mother lives in the building.

After about a half hour, a man climbed down from a second-floor balcony and surrendered to deputies. But it appeared that may not have been the suspect as his clothing was slightly different and deputies remained in a defensive posture outside the building.

The suspect remained barricaded in the building for hours. The barricade situation concluded around 12:20 a.m. Friday with the suspect in custody, according to LASD.

Further details regarding how the standoff ended were not immediately available.