2 men arrested in Murrieta after break-in and short chase

November 19, 2007 by Bill Gould, Publisher.

Murrieta, California - On Sunday morning at about 5:43 a.m. a resident leaving for work discovered his vehicle had just been ransacked with several items stolen. The resident saw a black Nissan Altima which he did not recognize leave his neighborhood. The resident followed the Nissan for a couple of blocks when suddenly the Nissan stopped on Kentucky Derby Lane and a male passenger exited the car and confronted the resident. As the resident and the passenger were talking the Nissan pulled away leaving the passenger.

The resident followed the Nissan and called Murrieta Police/Fire Dispatch. The Nissan continued south towards Old Town Murrieta. Police/Fire Dispatch updated arriving officers as the Nissan went south on 3rd. The Nissan spun out of control and went into a ditch at Juniper and 3rd. The driver, Johnny Pouge, 23, of Wilomar; ran from the crash site and was tackled by Murrieta Police Officer Jeremy Durrant and taken into custody.

Other officers began searching the Kentucky Derby neighborhood looking for the passenger. At about 6:15 a.m., Corporal Victor Carrillo found the passenger walking through the Murrieta Golf Driving Range on Washington Avenue. Riccardo Strong, 54 of Lake Elsinore was taken into custody at gun point without incident.

Inside the Altima, officers recovered a lap top computer, amplifier, burglary tools, empty handgun holster and metal knuckles. Both men were on parole. The driver was also in possession of a hypodermic syringe and needle. The driver was also wanted on a Parolee-At-Large warrant.

Both men were booked at Southwest Detention Facility.

Posted in News | Print | No Comments »