The Santa Monica Police Department is searching for a suspect who escaped from an overturned vehicle following a brief police chase over the weekend.
According to SMPD, officers received a call of a suspicious vehicle on the 900 block of Ocean Ave. at about 7:15 p.m. Officers located the vehicle and witnessed it commit several vehicle code violations.
“When the officer was about to initiate a traffic stop the vehicle fled at a high rate of speed and crashed a short distance later striking several parked vehicles and a tree,” said Lt. Rudy Flores. “The two occupants fled on foot and one was located a short time after.”
Officers found a loaded short barrel AR-type rifle and a loaded 9mm handgun along with individually packaged narcotics inside the crashed vehicle.
Flores said Ken Lee Fernandez, 22, from Buena Park was arrested on weapons and narcotics charges. The outstanding suspect is a 20-25-year-old black male wearing dark clothing.
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