Crime & Safety

Axe-Wielding Suspect Leads CHP On Chase

Prior to his arrest, Thomas Robert Landry was spotted shirtless in the I-15 center median swinging a pickaxe.

An axe-wielding 24-year-old San Diego man who led police on a high-speed freeway chase through Southwest Riverside has been arrested in Wildomar, according to a report from the California Highway Patrol.

Thomas Robert Landry was arrested around 9:40 a.m. Monday at Elizabeth Lane, just north of Clinton Keith Road, for felony evading, driving under the influence, being under the influence of a controlled substance, and resisting arrest, according to the CHP report.

The report stated that at around 9:30 a.m. Landry was spotted shirtless in the I-15 center median swinging a pickaxe. He had also been seen riding a skateboard, the report stated.

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When police arrived on scene, Landry didn’t heed officers’ orders, so an Electronic Control Device was fired, but it was ineffective, the report stated.

Landry got away by jumping into his nearby red Honda Civic and fleeing northbound on the freeway at speeds reaching 100 mph, the report stated. But he exited Clinton Keith Road in Wildomar heading east, then turned left onto Elizabeth Lane and was blocked by CHP at Bennetta Court.

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According to the report, Landry resisted arrest in Wildomar and became combative. It took a police dog to subdue him, the report stated.

There were no injuries reported as a result of the incident.

Landry is currently being held at Southwest Detention Center, according to CHP.


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