Stolen ambulance sparks police pursuit The driver...

Stolen ambulance sparks police pursuit

The driver of a stolen ambulance led police on a high speed chase

down Pacific Coast Highway through multiple cities on Friday, before

finally ending in Dana Point when the driver crashed into a median,

police said.

Huntington Beach police noticed the ambulance driving recklessly

at 10:52 p.m. near Warner Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway in

Huntington Beach, but initially did not assume it was stolen, said

Lt. Craig Juniger, of the Huntington Beach Police Department.

Police thought the ambulance looked suspicious because it was

traveling at a high rate of speed and the siren was sounding off, but

no emergency lights were running, Juniger said.

Both a patrol unit and a police helicopter attempted to stop the

vehicle, but the ambulance accelerated, police said. At this point,

police were unsure whether or not the ambulance was traveling to

nearby Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach, so they monitored the

ambulance but did not attempt to intervene, police said.

When police saw the ambulance speed through Newport Beach, they

determined it was not headed to the hospital and they began to pursue

the vehicle, police said.

Huntington Beach police dispatchers contacted the ambulance

company, that confirmed that the vehicle was stolen from Long Beach,

police said.

The chase continued down Pacific Coast Highway, where Laguna Beach

police units joined in the pursuit, police said.

In Dana Point the ambulance swerved, hit a center divider and

rolled onto its side, Juniger said. The driver, Robert Wayne Lafleur

II, 30, of Stockton, was treated for a bruised arm at San Clemente

Medical Center, police said. Lafleur was arrested on suspicion of

auto theft and evading police and was taken to the Huntington Beach

Jail, police said. No one else was injured in the chase, police said.

Police looking for leads in shooting

Huntington Beach Police are looking for two men involved in the

shooting of a 17-year-old boy Saturday night in the 17000 block of

Dairyview Circle, police said.

At 8 p.m., police responded to a call about a possible shooting

and found a juvenile who had been shot, police said. The boy was

treated at the scene and transported to UCI Medical Center, where he

was listed in stable condition, police said.

The victim told police that two men approached him while he was

standing outside his home and one of the men pulled a handgun from

his pocket and fired several rounds, police said.

As of yet, police do not have any leads on the suspects involved.

The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information related to

the shooting should call the Huntington Beach Police Department at

(714) 375-5066.

Accused killer

dies in hospital

A man accused of the murder of his girlfriend’s daughter in 1969

in Huntington Beach died Friday of natural causes at an Orange County

hospital, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Larry Yellin.

James Michael Kent, 63, died before he could testify, Yellin said.

Kent and his then-girlfriend Donna J. Prentice, 57, are accused of

murdering Prentice’s 3-year-old daughter, Michelle Pulsifer.

Although Kent did not confess to the murder, he did make statements

that he helped to bury Michelle’s body, Yellin said.

Prentice is being held in Orange County Jail and her preliminary

hearing is set for Feb. 25. Kent’s death does not the change the case

proceedings, Yellin said.