2 Arrested In Car Chase Through Lake Elsinore

Two Lake Elsinore residents were arrested early Wednesday morning following a car chase, police are reporting.

The incident began around 3:30 a.m. when deputies from the Lake Elsinore Police Department spotted a male and female in a black Honda Accord “driving erratically,” according to a report from sheriff’s Sgt. Steve Brosche.

Deputies suspected the driver may have been under the influence of alcohol or drugs, so they attempted a stop on the pair, Brosche explained.

“As the officer attempted to catch up to the vehicle, the driver fled,” he reported.

The car was spotted in the area of Mission Trail and Railroad Canyon Road a short time later with a flat tire and the driver still refusing to pull over, the sergeant continued.

“The driver led deputies on a slow speed pursuit lasting approximately 10 minutes,” running red lights and stop signs in the residential area of Sedco Boulevard and Crescent Avenue before finally stopping in the 33000 block of Orchard Avenue, Brosche reported.

The driver, Gabriel Cardenas, 19, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and possession of methamphetamine; the passenger, Lycinda Straley, 24, was arrested on suspicion of outstanding felony warrant for narcotics, Brosche said.

According to jail records, Straley remains in custody at Robert Presley Detention Center in lieu of $25,000 bail. Cardenas is in custody at Southwest Detention Center in lieu of $5,000 bail, the jail records show.