Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

WEST COVINA - A driver allegedly wanted for equipment violations led police on a pursuit and barricaded himself for several hours inside of his vehicle, police said.

Officers originally attempted to stop the driver, Marcelo Patricio Carrillo, 38, for allegedly driving without headlights in the area of Azusa Avenue and Vine Street February 6 just before 11:30 p.m.

The pursuit took surface streets north into the city of Azusa.

Carrillo allegedly struck a parked vehicle at the end of the pursuit and refused to exit his vehicle. West Covina officers, with assistance from the Covina and Azusa Police Departments, surrounded Carrillo’s vehicle and negotiated with him to surrender.

Carrillo allegedly kept a firearm on his lap throughout the standoff, Rodgers told SGV CityWatch.

Officers even used Carrillo’s mother who pleaded with him over a bull horn to surrender peacefully, but the suspect did not listen.

Flash bang grenades and tear gas were used and Carrillo was flushed out and arrested. He was booked on suspicion of evading a peace officer, reckless evading and carrying a loaded firearm in public, Rodgers told SGV CityWatch.

Carrillo was finally removed from the vehicle around 2:30 a.m.

Carrillo is scheduled to appear in the West Covina courthouse February 8.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

WEST COVINA - Two thieves were arrested early Sunday after ripping an entire ATM from a West Covina bank and leading police on a chase into Azusa.

With a commercial flatbed truck and chains, Charles Fettel, 35, and Raymond Loftin, 36, ripped a standalone ATM from the chase bank, 455 N. Azusa Ave., around 1:34 a.m. March 21. After seeing the ATM had been yanked from its spot at the bank, officers followed a debris trail and found a destroyed ATM and an abandoned flatbed truck, according to the west Covina Police Department.

While conducting an area search, officers attempted to pull over a suspicious vehicle, but the driver refused to stop. He and his passenger fled officers to a business area on South Dugan Avenue in Azusa, according to the West Covina Police Department.

After colliding into a fence, the driver and his passenger fled on foot.

Officers from West Covina, Azusa and Irwindale searched for the suspects, according to reports from the scene. Both suspects, who are San Bernardino residents, were eventually found. They were booked on suspicion of burglary and grand theft.

Fettel is Being held in lieu of $75,000 bail. Loftin is being held on a no-bail warrant, the West Covina Police Department said.

UPDATE, 5:30 p.m. - The driver of a stolen SUV led West Covina Police on a chase into the Azusa area and the suspect is now stuck on Highway 39 near Morris Dam.

​The suspect is about to surrender,

REGION - West Covina police are pursuing a stolen SUV in the Azusa area.

The solo occupant is driving around traffic, using the sidewalk and rolling through red lights as the driver evades deputies. The chase reportedly began in the Pico River area.

The chase is, at the time of this post, north on Azusa Avenue passing Arrow Highway.