Kidnap Suspect Arrested After He Crashes in Stolen Patrol Car

A suspected kidnaper fleeing sheriff’s deputies in the Antelope Valley managed to steal a patrol car from a pursuing deputy Thursday, beginning a high-speed chase that ended in an accident that injured three passersby, deputies said.

Charles Finney, 32, was in custody on suspicion of kidnaping, grand theft and reckless driving, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said. Two other suspects were sought in the kidnaping, but no information on them was available.

Finney and two accomplices kidnaped Christopher Kitchell of Lancaster and then called his girlfriend and his roommate about 5:30 a.m. Thursday, demanding a $500 ransom, Sheriff’s Sgt. Bob Denham said.

Kitchell, whose face was slashed during his captivity, was freed after his friends paid the kidnapers, Denham said. The friends then called deputies who began searching the area.

Deputy Charles Upchurch saw a car matching the description of the kidnapers’ vehicle at 6:30 a.m. at the corner of Avenue K and 5th Street East. The car sped away when the driver saw the deputy.

Upchurch followed for about a block. When the driver abruptly stopped the car and fled on foot behind a house on 6th Street East, the deputy jumped from his car and gave chase. The man circled around the house, jumped into the empty patrol car and drove east on Avenue K at about 90 m.p.h., Denham said.

Other deputies took up the chase, which ended about 4 1/2 miles away when the stolen patrol car ran a stop sign at Avenue K and 50th Street East, broadsided a car and crashed head-on into a pickup truck, Denham said.

The fleeing suspect leaped from the patrol car and unsuccessfully tried to force his way into the car of a motorist who pulled over to offer assistance to the accident victims, police said.

The suspect then tried to flee on foot and deputies arrested Finney about 300 yards away, Denham said.

Finney, who suffered only minor injuries, was in custody at the County-USC Medical Center jail ward in lieu of $125,000 bail, Denham said.

The driver of the pickup truck, a man in his 30s whose name was unavailable, was in critical condition with multiple fractures at Antelope Valley Hospital Medical Center, said hospital spokeswoman Frankie Richards.

The two people in the auto broadsided by the stolen patrol car were treated at Lancaster Community Hospital. Richard Tirado, 24, was in stable condition after his transfer to County-USC Medical Center and Pedro Tirado, 21, was released after treatment for minor injuries, said hospital spokeswoman Christy Smith. Authorities did not know the Tirados’ relationship or hometown.

“It was quite an impact--almost 100 m.p.h.,” Denham said. “I’m surprised everyone lived and I’m very surprised that guy could get out and run away afterward.”