Driver Fires Shots From Pickup, Leads Officers On Pursuit: Police

CULVER CITY, CA — A man was arrested for allegedly firing shots from a pickup truck in Culver City and igniting a short police pursuit that ended in the Mar Vista community, authorities said Sunday.

At about 10:50 p.m. Saturday, officers traveling west on Washington Boulevard, near Centinela Avenue, saw multiple gunshots fired from a white pickup truck that was traveling in the opposite direction, according to Lt. Michael Van Hook of the Culver City Police Department.

"Officers observed muzzle flashes coming from the driver's side of the vehicle and heard approximately four to six gunshots," Van Hook said. "The shooting occurred in an area busy with surrounding vehicle traffic and patrons at nearby businesses."

Officers tried to pull the truck over, which triggered a vehicle pursuit, he said.

"The pursuit ended on Inglewood Boulevard near Gilmore Avenue, where the driver exited the vehicle and fled on foot," Van Hook said. "Officers broadcast the suspect information to police in the surrounding area and safely detained two occupants from the vehicle without incident."

The suspected motorist, Kevin Lawrence Brown, 33, of Lancaster, was taken into custody nearby, with the assistance of the Los Angeles Police Department. Officers located a loaded .40-caliber Glock handgun concealed beneath a floor mat near the front passenger seat of the pickup and found .40- caliber cartridge casings in the roadway at Washington Boulevard and Centinela Avenue, police said.

Brown was arrested on suspicion of carrying a loaded firearm in a public place or vehicle, altering or removing identifying marks from a firearm, willful discharge of a firearm in a grossly negligent manner, and possession of a large-capacity magazine.

No injuries were reported, and no information was provided about the second person detained.

Anyone with information regarding the shooting was urged to call the Culver City Police Department at 310-253-6202.

— City News Service