Apparent Kidnapping and Pursuit Ends in Santa Barbara County

 
Los Angeles: A pursuit that began as an apparent kidnapping in the west San Fernando Valley ended 88 minutes later when the suspect exited the Ventura Freeway at Sheffield Road in Santa Barbara County. The driver, later identified as 37-year-old Douglas Newman, was arrested after a brief stand off.
The incident began around 11:30 AM, when a witness reported seeing a woman unloading boxes from a red Chevy Blazer, near the car wash at Victory Boulevard and Fallbrook Avenue. A man unexpectedly pushed the woman into the SUV and drove away. The witness called police and followed the Blazer until Los Angeles Police Department officers from the West Valley Division intercepted the SUV.
Newman refused to stop for the officers and a pursuit led to the freeway, heading north. The CHP took over the pursuit at 12:25 PM. The pursuit ended when the Blazer pulled off the freeway and stopped in a rural area. Officers were able to negotiate with Newman, and after about 15 minutes, the passengers were allowed to exit the Blazer and the driver was taken into custody.
During the pursuit, a man called LAPD and identified himself as the driver’s brother. He said the driver, seen on television, was from Idaho and in town with his family, visiting his mother.
The woman seen being pushed into the Blazer was Newman’s wife, and the other occupants were his three children, ages infant to about 12 years old.
Newman was not armed and no one was injured in the incident. Newman faces charges of domestic violence, evading and child endangerment. It was not immediately known why the driver fled from police.
The incident will be investigated by LAPD’s West Valley Police Station.