Lake Elsinore Man Tasered After Fleeing DUI Checkpoint

A Lake Elsinore man was Tasered and then arrested Friday night after he allegedly tried to escape officers at a DUI checkpoint set up on Clinton Keith Road at Murrieta Oaks Road West.

The incident occurred when Bryan Yang, 35, of Lake Elsinore, tried to make a U-turn to avoid the checkpoint, which was monitoring eastbound traffic on the roadway, said Murrieta police Sgt. James Gruwell in a news release.

When approached by an officer, the sergeant said Yang "displayed objective symptoms of being under the influence of drugs and admitted to being in possession of marijuana."

While an officer led Yang from his vehicle for further investigation, Gruwell said the Lake Elsinore man attempted to run off. The officer attempted to subdue Yang until a second officer arrived and deployed the Taser, Gruwell said.

Yang's record revealed he was a convicted felon serving probation for domestic violence. A search of his car revealed a loaded .38-caliber handgun in addition to marijuana, the sergeant said.

After being treated and released from a local hospital, Yang was arrested on suspicion of several crimes, including resisting an officer, being a felon in possession of a firearm, carrying a loaded firearm, probation violation and driving under the influence of drugs.

During the checkpoint, which was conducted between 7:15 p.m. and 1:15 a.m., a total of 1,007 vehicles drove through. Of those, 657 were screened, Gruwell said.

Fifteen of the drivers screened were pulled into a secondary area for further investigation, according to Gruwell.

A total of 11 vehicles were impounded during the checkpoint. Five vehicles were impounded because of alleged licensing violations, another five vehicles were stored because of the drivers not having valid licenses in the DMV system and one vehicle was stored when that driver was arrested, the sergeant said.

In addition to Yang, Malcolm A. Killebrew, 50, of San Diego, was arrested.

Killebrew, who was wanted on a domestic violence warrant and driving on a suspended license, was allegedly found carrying an illegal dirk/dagger in his vehicle, Gruwell said.

Killebrew was arrested for the warrant and on suspicion of possessing the illegal weapon, according to the sergeant.

Yang and Killebrew were each booked into the Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta.