Pursuit Driver Takes Own Life After Standoff in San Fernando Valley

A man who led police on a short pursuit that ended in a standoff in Arleta was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his utility truck. A small dog in the cab with him survived.

The pursuit began at 11:35 a.m. in the Arleta area. It wound along side streets and on the Golden State (5) Freeway before ending near where it began on Terra Bella Street and Beachy Avenue.

The man, in his early 40s, was wanted on multiple warrants including domestic violence and assault with a deadly weapon, according to Sgt. Frank Preciado with the Los Angeles Police Department. At least one of his assaults involved pistol-whipping his ex-girlfriend's boyfriend.

Police have been looking for the man for about two weeks. He was located in Burbank Wednesday morning and put under surveillance. He detected the officers and smiled at them before taking off in the utility truck, Preciado said.

At one point during the chase, the pursued truck crashed through an apartment complex gate, injuring a man 71-year-old man who knew the driver he and family members called "Shorty." The driver's ex-girlfriend and her boyfriend lived in the apartment complex. They had recently moved for fear he would come after them, Preciado said.

"I know he didn't mean to hurt my dad," said the 71-year-old man's son, Louis Calzada. "He just panicked."

Calzada says his dad was trying to get the driver to give up.

"He tried to tell him to stop. He loved him like a son."

The truck continued through the other side of the complex, rammed through another gate and sped back onto the street.

Police tried at least twice to spin out the truck, but failed. The chase ended when the driver of the truck abruptly stopped after police used a spike strip, which they deployed before he could return to the complex.

He then drove past the school where his ex-girlfriend's child attends, Preciado said.

Police were in a standoff for 45 minutes. Several streets and schools in the area were locked down as a precaution. Police went door-to-door ordering residents to stay inside their homes.

After the driver of the truck appeared to not move, police checked on his status using binoculars from a house rooftop.

A SWAT team, clad in riot gear and using a shield, opened the driver's side door, allowing paramedics to assess the man.

He was dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Preciado said.

Investigators said the man worked as a freelance mechanic, and an aircraft engine was found in the bed of the truck.

Animal control officers reunited the dog with family members.

Calzada said he can't believe the person he thought of as a big brother, the man who worked as a diesel mechanic who moved out after breaking up with his girlfriend, is the man who led police on a deadly chase.

"When it came to stress, he never worried too much," Calzada said. "He was happy go lucky."

Kathy Vara contributed to this report.

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