Parolee Carjacks Vehicle, Leads Police On Chase Across North County: Police

CARLSBAD, CA — A parolee carjacked a vehicle and led police on a multi-city pursuit that ended when he crashed the vehicle and was arrested in northern San Diego County, authorities said.

Deputies from the Vista Sheriff's Station responded to a report of a carjacking shortly after 7:30 a.m. Wednesday in the 600 block of Hacienda Drive in Vista. A man, later identified as Kenneth Wayne Ash, 30, confronted a driver and demanded that the victim get out of the vehicle, then got behind the wheel and drove off, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Office.

After deputies issued a "be on the lookout" alert to law enforcement agencies in the area, Carlsbad police spotted the stolen vehicle traveling northbound on Interstate 5 at La Costa Avenue, according to the Carlsbad Police Department.

"When officers attempted a traffic stop, the driver initially pulled over but then fled at a high rate of speed, reaching more than 100 miles per hour and committing multiple traffic violations," Carlsbad police spokesperson Denise Ramirez said.

Ash later exited the freeway and ran over a spike strip that deputies had laid in his path at Leucadia Boulevard and Garden View Road in Encinitas, sheriff's Sgt. William Clem said. The device deflated at least one tire on the stolen car.

Ash continued northbound on El Camino Real into Carlsbad, where he lost control of the vehicle, and collided into two vehicles, a bus stop and a tree near Faraday Avenue, Ramirez said.

"The suspect exited the vehicle and ignored officers' commands, walking toward nearby occupied vehicles that were stopped in traffic," Ramirez said. "A Carlsbad police K9 was deployed and apprehended the suspect, who continued to resist arrest. While officers attempted to secure him in a WRAP restraint device, one Carlsbad Police officer sustained a minor injury."

No members of the public or police K9s were injured in the incident.

Ash, an Oceanside resident, was taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla, where he was treated for injuries suffered in the crash before being booked into the Vista Detention Facility on suspicion of multiple charges, including carjacking, evading police, resisting arrest, and violating terms of his parole.