A Redondo Beach woman accused of leading police on a wild pursuit last month from Maywood to Vernon -- in which a murder suspect fired from the passenger seat at officers -- pleaded not guilty today to a pair of felony counts.
Alison Hart, 37, is charged with one count each of fleeing a pursuing peace officer while driving recklessly and being an accessory after the fact.
During the May 10 chase, Dylan Andres Lindsey, 24, of Torrance, fired shots at pursuing officers and then shot himself at the end of the pursuit, authorities said.
Lindsey, who died of his self-inflicted injuries on May 16, had been charged two days prior earlier with murder for the May 7 shooting death of Cerritos resident Gurpreet Singh at ASL Liquor and Market in the 8500 block of Paramount Boulevard in Downey, where the 44-year-old victim worked.
Lindsey was also charged with eight counts of assault with a firearm on a peace officer involving two Downey police officers, five Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies and one Bell Gardens police officer in connection with the pursuit, which began after Downey police detectives saw the suspect in Singh's killing getting into a Toyota Prius outside a residence in Maywood.
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Downey police Lt. Kathleen Mendoza said officers tried to pull over the vehicle, but the female driver -- later identified as Hart -- sped off.
During the chase, Lindsey could be seen leaning out a window of the Prius and firing shots at pursuing officers.
The chase went north on the Long Beach (710) Freeway then onto streets in Commerce and Vernon.
"He was hanging out the side of a car speeding down the freeway and the surface streets, firing a large-caliber revolver," sheriff's Lt. Derrick Alfred told reporters at the scene.
The vehicle eventually stopped in traffic near Bandini Boulevard and Downey Road in Vernon, where the passenger in the Prius again began firing at officers, who returned fire, shattering windows on the car.
Bullets struck two Downey police vehicles, and a civilian down range of the shootout suffered a "superficial graze wound," Alfred said. No law enforcement officers were injured in the shooting.
Hart got out of the Prius and surrendered a short time later, then was taken to a hospital, where she was treated for a non-life threatening gunshot wound. Upon her release, she was taken into custody and booked, but was later released on bond.
The passenger remained in the car, but appeared motionless as officers and more than a dozen cruisers were positioned behind the Prius. Sheriff's armored vehicles, called Bearcats, were brought to the scene and boxed in the car.
Authorities deployed a bomb squad robot to get a closer look in the car and they also deployed flash-bang devices, but the suspect remained inside.
Deputies eventually approached the car and pulled the suspect out, then placed him into an ambulance.
The suspect's weapon was recovered at the scene.
