Stripping Suspect Leads Police On Wild San Fernando Valley Chase

LOS ANGELES, CA — A man with a child in his car led police on a high-speed chase through the San Fernando Valley stripping as he drove, before holding police at bay in a tense stand off in Pasadena, police said Sunday.

Ultimately, the suspect, who was reportedly wanted on weapons/explosives charges was taken into custody.

The suspect was later identified as Alexis Cortes, 34, of Reseda, according to a watch commander at the Pasadena Police Department. Cortes, who was driving a Honda sedan with temporary paper plates, refused to pull over after police signalled him in Reseda shortly after 10 p.m. Saturday. He sped along at nearly 100 mph, zig-zagging across several lanes along the 210, 405 and 5 freeways in Sylmar, Mission Hills and Van Nuys.

As the chase wound around the San Fernando Valley, Cortes started to take articles of clothing off and thre them out the window, according to reports from the scene.

He finally stopped in the middle of Lincoln Avenue under the Foothill (210) Freeway in Pasadena, where he was arrested at about 11 p.m. Saturday.

There were at least two other people in the vehicle, including a child, according to California Highway Patrol.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report. Photo: Shutterstock