San Juan Capistrano Mail Theft Ends in Cross County Car Chase

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CA — A suspected mail thief led Orange County Sheriff's Department officers on a wild, high speed car chase Wednesday.

Orange County Sheriff's Department officers were dispatched to a San Juan Capistrano neighborhood on Wednesday on reports of mail theft.

"Deputies were dispatched around 11:30 a.m. to the 28800 block of Via Leone for a report of a woman stealing mail," Lt. Nathan Wilson of the Orange County Sheriff's Department said.

The arriving deputies spotted the female suspect fleeing a residence and entering a maroon Lexus sedan.

After an attempt to halt the vehicle, the woman failed to yield to Orange County officers and a vehicle pursuit ensued according to Wilson.

"The woman fled onto the southbound I-5 San Diego Freeway," Wilson said. "She eventually yielded on Las Pulgas Road near Camp Pendleton in San Diego County, just beyond the border checkpoint."

She was taken into custody without incident.

"The woman was arrested on felony evading, burglary and mail theft," according to OCSD Public Information Officer Mark Stichter. "The investigation is ongoing."

Her name has not yet been released.

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