Police Share Details Behind Murrieta Mesa High School Lockdown

MURRIETA, CA — Details were released on the temporary school lockdown at Murrieta Mesa High School Wednesday afternoon as police sought a wanted felon.

Jesse Line, a 27-year-old unhoused man most recently from Lake Elsinore, was being held on multiple felony warrants without bail pending felony charges, including possessing tear gas and violating state parole, according to Murrieta Police Officer Jeremy Durrant.

Shortly after 3:15 p.m., officers initiated contact with a suspect at a nearby Jack in the Box at Kalmia Street and Madison Avenue in Murrieta. The suspect evaded arrest and fled on foot toward the freeway, crossing southbound lanes of the I-15 to the center divider. Due to the proximity of the high school, a lockdown was ordered out of an abundance of caution, he said.

The man, later identified as Line, took off running across the freeway to the center median, and the school was locked down as he was headed in that direction, according to Durrant.

"He traveled south in the center median, attempting to be picked up by any passer-by, playing Leapfrog with cops, and trying to avoid capture," Durrant said. Murrieta Police officers gave chase and attempted to involve California Highway Patrol.

"Line was apprehended after becoming tired from the chase," Durrant said. He was picked up near the Murrieta Hot Springs and I-15 southbound exit.

Murrieta Mesa's principal, Scott Richards Jr., wrote a message to parents thanking everyone involved, from the police to the bus drivers, custodial staff, teachers, and students. "We are ... Mesa. Go Rams!"