An armed burglary suspect who fought with officers and escaped into a sewer was finally caught after crawling out through a manhole and running into an apartment complex Saturday morning.
The suspect was wanted for burglarizing a home around 2 a.m. on the 4900 block of Blue Bell Avenue in Van Nuys, but then police received several calls that the same man had begun hopping fences and going into other properties, said a watch commander with the Los Angeles Police Department's Van Nuys division.
The suspect fought off responding officers and ran away, ignoring commands and jumping about 20 feet into a flood channel, the LAPD said.
The man then continued into a side tunnel of the flood channel. K-9 officers arrived to the scene and firefighters helped to lower one dog into the tunnel, with officers following behind.
As officers entered the tunnel and continued their search, a resident called police to tell them that she saw the man pop out of a manhole approximately half a mile away and crawl into the common attic entryway of an apartment complex, the LAPD said.
Officers and a K-9 traced the man by his wet, muddy footprints and were finally able to take him into custody.
The suspect has been identified only as a black man in his late 20s to early 30s. He was transported to an area hospital for medical aid.
Police say two officers were slightly injured during the altercation with the suspect, one of whom possibly suffered a cut as the suspect was carrying a knife.
