LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Authorities say a robbery suspect was seen emerging from a car clutching his 2-month-old daughter after a high-speed chase through Los Angeles.
Daianne Henderson, 21, was taken into custody without incident Wednesday on suspicion of kidnapping, child endangerment and felony escape, according to a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department spokesman. Jail records show she is being held without bail.
According to authorities, the incident began with an armed robbery in Beverly Hills, after which Hawthorne police spotted several suspects in a vehicle and began a pursuit around 5:40 p.m.
The pursuit headed into the South Los Angeles area as Hawthorne police requested assistance from sheriff’s deputies.
The driver pulled over shortly thereafter in South Los Angeles, where three men jumped out and fled. Police established a lockdown and arrested two of the suspects, who were then turned over to Beverly Hills Police.
However, the third suspect got into another vehicle, a Kia sedan, and sped away, sparking another pursuit.
After a dangerous high-speed chase by authorities through downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday, a suspected robber emerged from a car clutching his 2-month-old daughter.
At the time, officers believed he had carjacked the vehicle, and they later discovered a woman and her young daughter were also in the car.
The driver of the Kia fled the scene on surface roads in Los Angeles, weaving through traffic, running red lights and at times driving the wrong way into oncoming traffic. At one point, the Kia was recorded at speeds of 60-70 mph on surface roads in the Culver City area.
The suspect ran into a dead-end road in Blair Hills and became trapped, and officers intercepted him from behind, leading to a tense standoff that lasted several minutes.
The suspect then appears to tell authorities there was a baby in the car, and AIR7 captured the suspect in the driver’s seat with the small child on his lap.
Seconds later, a woman emerged from the back seat holding a child, the driver got out of the car and hugged the woman and child, and the woman walked towards the officer.
The suspect then complied with officers’ commands and was handcuffed, and officers later indicated that the suspect was the baby’s father.
The suspect appears to be live-streaming the pursuit, and the woman can be heard repeatedly yelling for him to stop the car and claiming that he is putting her baby at risk.
The woman was not arrested. Police provided the girl with food and medical attention and changed her diaper, authorities said. The girl initially cried but then fell asleep and was reportedly in good condition. She was returned to her mother.
Deputy Adriana Martinez was one of the deputies who cared for the child.
“I was just happy to be there,” Martinez said at an evening news conference. “My concern was the baby. She was crying and I wanted to comfort her. My maternal instincts kicked in. I tried to comfort her and get her to stop crying. We ended up taking care of her. I was happy to be there. I felt like I was holding my daughter when she was little.”
Officers said they were shocked to discover the suspect had lured officers into a dangerous pursuit with his child in the car.
“It’s mind-blowing to think that not only was this guy driving like a madman, he had a 2-month-old daughter and her mother in the car, but he took the time to livestream the whole thing on his phone,” Deputy Sheriff Tony Lomedico said. “When you meet someone like this, it moves you in ways that words can’t describe.”
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