A suspected reckless driver who was also believed to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs was arrested Friday about two hours after leading deputies on a chase then barricading himself inside his disabled vehicle on a dirt road in the Antelope Valley near Acton.
The pursuit began shortly before 3 p.m. in the area of the Antelope Valley (14) Freeway and Angeles Crest Highway, according to Deputy Armando Viera Jr. of the Sheriff's Information Bureau. The slow-speed chase, dragging at speeds sometimes as low as 5 mph, resembled a parade at times, with the suspect followed by a string of sheriff's vehicles.
At one point, the driver appeared tossed what appeared to be money out of the car's window. The chase ended at Peaceful Valley and Forest View roads, west of the freeway, where the suspect refused to get out of his car, which by then had at least three of its tires flattened by a spike strip.
Deputies fired projectiles into the car early in the standoff, but the man would not give up. A SWAT team with an armored vehicle responded to the location and the suspect was eventually taken into custody around 5:30 p.m. The man was later identified as Robert Rivera of San Bernardino.
He was taken to a hospital to receive medical clearance before booking, Viera said.
