WALNUT CREEK (KRON) — A man was arrested after a suspected vehicle theft in Walnut Creek which lead to a highway and foot pursuit and assault of an officer in Lafayette on Thursday.
On Thursday at 4:54 p.m., the Walnut Creek Police Department responded to the public parking garage located at 1390 North Broadway regard a subject who was rummaging through an unlocked vehicle.
The reporting party scared the subject away and called police.
Officers arrived and located the suspect driving south on North Broadway in a stolen vehicle.
Officers attempted to stop the vehicle by the suspect accelerated and fled westbound on Highway 24 at speeds of 85 mph. Officers pursued the suspect into Lafayette where the pursuit ended in front of the Whole Foods grocery store located at 3052 Mount Diablo Boulevard.
Officers then chased the suspect on foot through the Whole Foods parking lot. During the foot chase, the suspect threw a chair at an officer which struck him in the leg causing a deep laceration.
A citizen, who witnessed the foot pursuit, assisted officers in taking the suspect into custody.
The injured officer was treated at the hospital and later released.
The suspect, 30-year-old African American male of San Jose, Teluluai Lesie, was transported to Martinez Detention Facility (MDF) and booked on seven felonies and two misdemeanors for vehicle theft, evading and resisting arrest and assault on a peace officer.
