A police chase in California ended the same way most of my rounds of golf begin — in a water hazard. Except this story involves golfers tackling criminals.
At 11:18 a.m., patrol officers near Harbor Boulevard and Heil Avenue saw a man driving a Jeep Cherokee into the parking lot of a 7-Eleven store. One officer walked up to talk to the man, later identified as parolee Mario Gam Acevedo, but he quickly drove off, said Sgt. Tony Luce of the Fountain Valley Police Department.
Acevedo, 34, of Santa Ana drove the car – which had been reported stolen – over the landscaped parkway and sidewalk westbound onto Heil.
And the chase was on and quickly ended after Acevedo crashed through a fence at the David L. Baker Memorial Golf Course. Acevedo did not have a tee time booked.
Jim Sanders was teeing off with his friend, Jim Craft, on the 17th hole when the Cherokee careened by.
“He hit a bunker and tore up the 15th green and wound up in the lake,” Sanders said.
Police confirmed that Acevedo’s car wound up in the water hazard and he tried to run away. Sanders said Acevedo was tackled by another golfer and held until police arrived.
Cops found a “significant amount” of drugs on Acevedo along with a replica firearm and burglary tools. He was also penalized a few strokes for trying to play through.
[via OC Register]