Police Chase Ends In Beaumont, Kidnapping Suspect Arrested

BEAUMONT, CA — A Banning man was arrested Wednesday following a police pursuit in the Beaumont area that involved multiple law enforcement agencies. Steven Garcia, 45, was ultimately caught Wednesday afternoon and arrested by the Fontana Police Department, officials tell Patch.

According to Fontana Police Sgt. Kellen Guthrie, Garcia was wanted in connection to a kidnapping and domestic violence case out of Riverside County.

"On Monday, he ended up in our city and we were called by the victim," Guthrie told Patch. "When we attempted to contact him on Monday, he fled in his vehicle and we lost sight of him and the pursuit was terminated."

After some follow-up investigation, Guthrie said police tracked Garcia down to the Beaumont area. On Wednesday afternoon, officers spotted him in town around noon.

"That's when a pursuit in Beaumont occurred," Guthrie said. "He fled again."

Beaumont police say they assisted in the efforts to catch Garcia in the area of Commerce Way between 1st Street and 2nd Street Marketplace.

Guthrie says that it was ultimately a police intervention technique that helped authorities disable Garcia's vehicle. Once that happened, the man took off running.

"We caught him and we took him into custody," he said.

Garcia was taken to the Banning jail, according to the sergeant. Jail records were not immediately available, but he was expected to be booked on suspicion of kidnapping, felony evading and a domestic violence charge.