Newport police chase ends in Dana Point

Lolita Harper

NEWPORT BEACH -- A 15-year-old Monarch Beach resident was taken into

custody Sunday after leading police on a high-speed chase in his parents’

Mercedes Benz, police said.

Police chased the boy from MacArthur Boulevard in Newport Beach to

Crown Valley Parkway in Dana Point and, at times, speeds reached up to

100 mph, said Newport Beach Police Sgt. Steve Shulman.

“Thank God he didn’t crash or hurt anybody along the way,” Shulman

said.

The boy, whose name was not released because he is a juvenile, was

booked on suspicion of felony evading an officer and the unlawful taking

of a vehicle, police said. Because he was under 18, the boy was taken

into temporary custody and later released to his parents.

The boy was allegedly driving his parents’ black, two-door 1983

Mercedes Benz along MacArthur Boulevard at 100 mph when he drew police

attention, Shulman said.

Officers began chasing the boy about 1 a.m. Sunday and ordered him to

stop but he refused. After a 16-mile chase, the boy finally stopped at

the end of a service road in Dana Point and cooperated with police,

Shulman said.

Shulman said officers recovered a can of concentrated hash in the

boy’s possession, Shulman said.

Joy riding teenagers are not uncommon in Newport Beach, police said.

“It happens occasionally,” he said. “This is definitely not the first

time.”

* Lolita Harper covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4275 or by e-mail at o7 lolita.harper@latimes.comf7 .