Deputies nab three after brief campus lockdown

Suspects eyed for burglary charges

Deputies arrested three vehicle-burglary suspects after a brief campus lockdown in the early hours Monday at CalArts, officials said.

The timeline of events began in the Calgrove area of Newhall, just east of Interstate 5 at about 4:30 a.m., according to Sgt. Tim Vander Leek of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station.

Patrol deputies responding to a report of a possible vehicle burglary came across two vehicles conducting suspicious activity in the same neighborhood, Vander Leek said.

“The deputies responded to (near the intersection of Ebelden and Calgrove, in Valencia) regarding three suspicious males

looking into vehicles with flashlights,” according to Lt. Chuck Becerra of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station, “and actually found property from the burglaries.”

The deputies immediately detained one of the two vehicles, but one car fled from the scene westbound on Calgrove Boulevard and eventually entered northbound Interstate 5.

Another patrol car followed the vehicle onto the freeway, but did not initiate a pursuit, the sergeant said.

The vehicle containing three men pulled over for a traffic stop by deputies near the offramp to McBean Parkway. One of the passengers exited the car and fled on foot east of the freeway.

A detailed description of the man was shared with nearby Santa Clarita area sheriff’s units within minutes, the sergeant said. California Institute of the Arts was locked down as a precaution.

A patrol deputy searching the area captured the suspect about an hour later, Vander Leek said.

Investigators suspected the fugitive abandoned evidence in the area and found an “Airsoft” gun believed to be abandoned by one of the suspects during their search.

All three suspects were charged with vehicle burglary, according to Sheriff’s Station officials.