The Antelope Valley Times

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Man arrested after police chase in stolen car

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The car chase ended near 17th Street East and Avenue J-2 in Lancaster when the suspect drove onto a curb, jumped out of the car and ran off on foot, officials said. [Photo by LUIS MEZA]
The car chase ended near 17th Street East and Avenue J-2 in Lancaster when the suspect drove onto a curb, jumped out of the car and ran off on foot, officials said. [Photo by LUIS MEZA]
LANCASTER – A 37-year-old man was arrested Thursday after leading deputies on a pursuit through central and east Lancaster in a stolen car, authorities said.

John Matthew Sowell was arrested on suspicion of vehicle theft and assault with a deadly weapon. He allegedly drove the stolen vehicle at several deputies who were outside their patrol cars at the time, according to Deputy Kit Gruppie of the Lancaster Sheriff’s Station.

It all started around 9:55 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, on the 44000 block of Fenhold Street in Lancaster.

The suspect was detained by several deputies in a desert field and arrested. [LUIS MEZA]
The suspect was detained by several deputies in a desert field and arrested. [LUIS MEZA]
“Members of our burglary team were investigating a burglary… As they approached the location, this suspect fled in the white Honda,” said Captain Pat Nelson of the Lancaster Sheriff’s Station. “Believing that a residential burglary had just occurred, they initiated pursuit.”

Deputies pursued the vehicle through several residential neighborhoods in central and east Lancaster until the chase was eventually called off, according to Gruppie.

The suspect was fleeing deputies in a vehicle that was reported stolen. [LUIS MEZA]
The suspect fled deputies in a vehicle that was reported stolen. [LUIS MEZA]
Authorities then deployed Lancaster’s Law Enforcement Aerial Platform System (LEAPS), which located the stolen vehicle parked near 11th Street East with the suspect behind the wheel, Gruppie said.

Deputies made verbal commands for the suspect to exit the vehicle, but he refused and instead drove the vehicle at deputies, according to a Lancaster Station crime broadcast.

The pursuit was reinitiated, Gruppie said, and it continued through residential neighborhoods near 17th and 18th Street East and Avenue J-2.

The car chase ended when the suspect drove onto a curb, jumped out of the car and ran off on foot, Gruppie said.

The suspect was detained by several deputies in a desert field near 17th Street East and Avenue J-2.

John Sowell was arrested around 11 a.m. and booked at the Lancaster Sheriff’s Station on $50,000 bail, according to LASD inmate records.

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Filed Under: Crime/ Safety

44 comments for "Man arrested after police chase in stolen car"

  1. Nice work deputies. Keep up the good work. Don’t worry about all the haters who obviously know jack all about the good work you do. The intelligent people out here in the world are aware of the kind of things you deal with when you put on the badge, and what kind of toll it can take on a person mentally and physically.

    Once again you have showed the professionalism and skills to apprehend a suspect without using the excessive force that so many people seem to think is standard fare for all law enforcement.

    While you are out there facing the scum of society, trying to keep the peace and get the criminals off the streets, the rest of us get to feel just a little better, a little safer knowing you have removed another POS from the streets.

    Anybody who can’t see past their own lack of intelligence can and should take a page from one of their own. Don’t like how things are here, go ahead and leave. Find another city, state, or country where you might feel more comfortable.

  2. Verify Mr Sowell home address i doubt if he pays rent or a mortgage. For those who receive section 8 and warehouses there baby daddy boyfriends or sons that commit crimes take the section 8 rights away ASP forever.. Crime will go down in the AV.

      • U R 100% right. This exterminator on my job capture this big fat Rat in some sticky solution i ask him how are you going to kill it he said are you crazy I’m going to release this rat on my next job. Job security my man… 100% true store.

  3. All ya’ll need to Stfu ok that my cousin all of you sitting here acting childish lol wow all of you must not have lives if you sitting here waisting your time.

    • yOU SAY THIS WITH PRIDE?… WOW!!! I WOULD BE EMBARRASSED. HOW BOUT YOU TELL HIM TO GET A JOB AND STOP STEALING FROM THOSE OF US WHO WORK FOR WHAT WE HAVE. HE PUT LIVES AT RISK BECAUSE HE IS TOO LAZY TO EARN HIS MONEY AND YOU ARE HERE GOING OFF ON PEOPLE !? PLEASE LADY GET A CLUE

      • I think what Sasha is trying to say is that your words hurt. He has a family that loves him very much. Hes struggled with addiction and depression for a long time. None of us have been able to help him. I apologize to the families that were affected by his behavior but his family is suffering too. This is painful for everyone involved. Before youre quick to judge maybe you should consider both sides. Hes a son, a brother, and an uncle.

    • hahah u got ur self a stupid cus there dont u feel proud? and im assuming he didnt have a life if he was out taking people hard work? your a joke like him ahhaha

    • There are countries in the world where trial by jury has never been instituted. You are welcome to move to one. Don’t let the door hit you on your way out.

      • AV Times,

        You should probably remove all comments to this story. Between the ridiculous comments about Law enforcement and a family member threating to shoot someone, it has all gone a bit to far.

        • First time visiting the site? Generally every article devolves into this. If you know someone in the community who suffered a loss, I’d strongly advise that you urge them NOT to visit this site to read about it.

    • I am one of those people you call trash. I broke the law in a big way and did my time without complaining. I decided to change my mind, and turned around and took another direction. Thanks to God’s grace and mercy I am learning to be a productive member of society. As long as I am still breathing, I hope I can make a difference with others that are still struggling. A bullet is too final too often. I have witnessed amazing transformations.

    • Yep, … if they are as stupid as this guy he could run for President and conceivably be voted into office.

    • Please don’t refer to any living being as trash, we have no idea the affliction and misfortune the other of our fellow man has been subjected to. Not all of us are so evenly keeled. I pray for his healing and restoration.

  5. He realy needed a good beat down, too bad.whats the dirt bike cop doing their shouldn’t he be up in the hills so much for our tax dollars I supported them but not anymore.

    • Actually, I would prefer they stay off the hills, unless it is private property. There are some good riding trails in them there hills by the looks of it.

    • Danny the dirt bike cop might have been on their way back from desert dirt biking…. Getting off work and decided to help the others.

    • Dont worry theyll be coming for you too one day or another.. low life scum like you always stay messing up and getting arrested.

      • Nice try AV boy, but wrong again. After I left AV, cops don’t even look at me. Only in hillbilly AV with it’s predatory revenue collecting pigs did I ever have any trouble.

    • I wonder what you have against law enforcement who risk their lives every day for you and me. Please explain why you call those who clean up scum, pigs otherwise say what you have to say in front of those concerned not hiding like a cowardly dog with his tail tucked under his non existent scrotum.

      • They aren’t risking their lives for you and me. Statistically, they aren’t really risking their lives much at all, but they certainly aren’t doing anything for me. If you are married to one and living off their paycheck I suppose they might be doing it for you, in a way.

    • Haha! I love the wit displayed here. Stormtrooper outfits! Genius!

      Not really. You are an oxygen theif. Go apologize to a tree or a kelp bed for making work so hard keeping you alive.

      • A cop has almost ruined my life, but never once saved it. Only thing cops protect is the status quo. The only good cop is a…

    • I bet if they stole your car, you would be quick to call the police and start crying for them to help you. You’re a two faced person or a poker face.

      • I wouldn’t call the police if my entire house was cleaned out at gunpoint. When the government wages it’s war against the people, cops will be the first ones sticking a gun in your face.

        • Wise choice.

          House has been cleaned out. Or house has been cleaned out and stuck in a conversation with some arrogant prig with a badge. Seems obvious which of those is the lesser of the two evils.

          • Tim Scott must have flunked his entrance exam into the law enforcement academy. I know he could never pass the psychological test. That’s the real secret behind his hatred for them.

          • And another idiot joins the parade of random speculation about my past. Sign up with Claire, she is the president of my fan club.

        • Law enforcement would not back a government who wages a war against their citizens, that’s why the government made a deal with Russia to send their troops onto our soil to enforce their power and control if it ever came down to it.

          • Yep. They certainly balked at the “war on drugs”…oh, wait, they seemed to enjoy that.

            But at least our local cops balked at the mayor’s “war on section 8.” Oh, wait. Actually their response was more like “Wheeeeeee! Home invasions! What fun!”

            Apparently we cannot even begin to count on this idea that law enforcement wouldn’t back a government waging war on the citizens.