Woman flees after robbery suspect runs into home during LAPD pursuit
By Dean Fioresi
Click here for updates on this story
LOS ANGELES (KCAL, KCBS) — Los Angeles police arrested an alleged robbery suspect following a pursuit and then a foot chase that ended inside a San Fernando Valley home on Friday morning.
Police haven’t yet said where the chase began, but said that they were in pursuit of a green Ford Mustang with a driver wanted for robbery. They followed the suspect along the 101 Freeway into Valley Glen, where the suspect parked the car and began to run.
Aerial footage showed the suspect running through several yards and into the backyards of some homes. Eventually, he ran into a house near the 12800 block of Welby Way in North Hollywood. SkyCal was overhead as a woman and dog ran from inside the house moments after the suspect entered.
LAPD officers quickly rushed to the front door with firearms drawn. They walked the suspect out of the house in handcuffs minutes later. Officers later identified him as Joshua Villareal.
Chloe Conwi, the woman seen running out of her home, said she found Villareal sitting in her shower. She said Villareal tried to calm her down and coax her to walk closer to him.
“I just started sprinting out, and I’m like yelling,” she said. “I’ve never yelled that loud and been that scared in my entire life.”
Brother Martin Conwi said he was walking out of his bedroom when he found Villarreal in his family’s hallway. He said he immediately took Villareal down to protect his family.
“I grabbed him by the collar, strike him on his neck and drag him down,” Martin Conwi said.
Martin Conwi said he dragged Villareal to the family’s living room, where his brother jumped in to help. They said the family’s pug Kumo also jumped on the suspect as the brothers held him down for police. The brothers said Villareal tried to convince them to let him go.
“He was like, ‘Save me. I’m trying to hide from the officers,” Martin Conwi recalled.
Chloe Conwi said her brothers’ actions did not surprise them.
“They’ve always been overprotective and stuff,” she said. “I’m scared for the guy, not even for my brothers.”
Martin Conwi said he learned the takedown technique when he was an explorer for the California Highway Patrol. The 20-year-old said he’s currently applying for the CHP.
Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.