East Bay shoplifting duo crash into vehicle after pursuit called off

LAFAYETTE — One person was arrested and two others took a trip to the hospital Tuesday following a shoplifting incident in Lafayette that also resulted in a brief pursuit and crash, authorities said.

The two who went to a hospital were not injured, and another person involved in the shoplifting got away, Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Jimmy Lee said. The sheriff’s office contracts out officers for Lafayette police and serves as that agency’s public voice.

It all happened beginning about 2:15 p.m. after a business in the 3500 block of Mount Diablo Boulevard reported the shoplifting.

Authorities said they arrested a 43-year-old Oakland man on suspicion of petty theft, petty theft with prior convictions, felony evading, hit-and-run, possession of ammunition and parole violation. They booked him into the Martinez Detention Facility, where he was being held Wednesday without bail, according to jail records.

According to Lee, the two suspects fled the shoplifting in a silver Honda and drove past a Lafayette police officer on Pleasant Hill Road. The offficer tried to stop the car, but Lee said it accelerated. Lee said the officer pursued the vehicle until it began to drive south on Pleasant Hill Road in the northbound lanes.

That same officer later game upon the crash involving the Honda and another vehicle. The suspects ran from the crash scene. The two in the other vehicle went to the hospital as a precaution.

Orinda police, the California Highway Patrol and East Bay Regional Park police helped Lafayette police and sheriff’s office deputies surround the area, and Lee said a police dog found one of the suspects.

Authorities continue to search for the second suspect. They did not have a detailed description of that person.

Police closed down Pleasant Hill Road at Springhill Road and Green Valley Drive in both directions while they looked for the two suspects and put out a digital advisory to the public to avoid the area.