Burglary suspect arrested after fleeing to Venice roof

A burglary suspect was taken into custody Friday morning after trying to evade police on a Venice rooftop.

The incident began about 6 a.m. when officers responded to a report of a burglary suspect, said Los Angeles police spokesman Richard French. The man eventually made his way to the top of a three-story apartment building near the intersection of 6th and Vernon avenues.

“He took off running,” LAPD officer Mike Scott said. “We set up a perimeter, and he ended up on a roof.”

The building was evacuated and a SWAT team rolled to the scene because the man “continued to refuse to come down,” French said. Some area streets also were blocked off.

Television footage showed the shirtless man walking across the roof, at times appearing to yell down to people on the ground, waving, and lying down, his arms and shirt curled under his head as if taking a nap.

The man eventually came down on his own when he jumped onto a catwalk shortly before 9:30 a.m., KTLA-TV reported. Television footage showed SWAT officers handcuffing him.

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