Suspects Speed Against Traffic, Jump From Roofs, Hug At Gunpoint

EAST LOS ANGELES, CA — A pair of robbery suspects plowed through oncoming traffic, hopped fences, and jumped from rooftop to rooftop in an effort to escape police Wednesday. But their desperate flight was in vain. In the end, the couple hugged at gunpoint before Los Angeles Sheriff's Department deputies slapped cuffs on them.

The man and woman, wanted in a pair of attempted armed robberies, led police on a dangerous 40-minute car chase through East Los Angeles during rush hour Wednesday. The chase began about 4:40 p.m. in the area of Union Pacific and Indiana avenues near the border of Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles. The woman appeared to be the getaway driver, narrowly missing other cars as while speeding against opposing traffic.

Eventually, the pair ditched the car and tried to escape on foot in Bell Gardens. As news helicopters followed overhead, the woman could be seen hopping fences and jumping from rooftops until she reconnected with the other suspect in a backyard.

The two shared a hug before deputies with guns drawn closed in and took the pair into custody.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.