Suspect in Monday's Bank Robbery Pursuit Previously Killed a Man in a High Speed Chase

A 52-year-old man arrested on suspicion of robbing a Lake Forest credit union on Monday was convicted in the mid-1990s of murder, according to court records obtained today.

The records show that Chandler Emile Graham was convicted on April 25, 1995, of murder and was sentenced that June to 15 years in prison. Appellate court records indicate that justices affirmed his conviction and the state Supreme Court in 1997 declined a request to review the case.

According to a Los Angeles Times story dated Aug. 27, 1994, Graham was arrested following a deadly high-speed chase in La Habra.

The pursuit ended with a four-car pileup at La Habra Boulevard and Monte Vista Avenue. The car Graham was driving ended up crashing at the steps of a city fire station.

Tore O. Johanson, a 66-year-old Lakewood resident, was killed in the crash, and his wife was critically injured, according to the newspaper.

Graham, who’s being held without bail, allegedly robbed the Eagle Community Credit Union at 23021 Lake Center Drive in Lake Forest on Monday.

Orange County sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Hallock said witnesses gave deputies a description of the suspect and his getaway car, and when authorities tried to pull Graham over, he led them on a pursuit that ended near Red Hill Avenue and El Camino Real in Tustin.

City News Service