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By Miriam Raftery
April 14, 2022 (San Diego’s East County) – A suspect accused of carjacking an El Cajon Police vehicle containing SWAT gear and weapons last night led officers on a high-speed chase across East County before being apprehended in Chula Vista.
An off-duty ECPD officer was leaving a 7-Eleven store in Santee when "a man opened the passenger door of the unmarked pickup truck, got into the vehicle and began yelling incoherently at the driver. At some point, both parties got out of the truck and the carjacker was able to get behind the wheel and drive away," says Sergeant Michael Gonzalez with the Sheriff's department.
The vehicle had SWAT gear, an assault rifle and a pistol locked in a storage locker, according to 10 News.
Arund midnight, officers spotted the truck in Lakeside, but when they tried to conduct a vehicle stop, the carjacker sped onto I-8 west. A pursuit ensued, reaching speeds over 100 miles per hour, as the driver flashed the truck’s police lights CBS 8 and 10 News report.
The chase, which was joined by the Sheriff's Astrea helicopter, raced through La Mesa, Lemon Grove and Spring Valley on State Routes 94 and 125, before the suspect crashed into a fire hydrant near the Otay Ranch Mall in Chula Vista.
The carjacked fled on foot. Sheriff’s deputies and police officers surrounded him and ordered him to surrender, but he refused. A taser was deployed along with a police dog from ECPD.
The suspect, David Alejandro Felix, suffered minor injuries from the crash and has been booked at San Diego Central Jail on charges of carjacking, assault on a peace officer, car theft, possessing a stolen vehicle and felony evading arrest.
Weapons and SWAT gear were recovered in the vehicle.
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