Interrupted Burglary In Lafayette Triggers Police Chase, Crash In Front Of Canyon Post Office Tuesday
A Lafayette homeowner arrived at her Los Palos Manor home Tuesday just in time to see a man she had never seen before running out of the residence and jump into a waiting car.
Police converged on the area and quickly pinpointed a black ’97 Audi fleeing the area at speed, a pair of Moraga police officers picking up the car as it passed them at Bollinger Canyon, chasing it along St. Mary’s Road and into Canyon before the vehicle crashed into a stone wall outside the Canyon Post Office at speeds estimated at between 60 and 70mph. Officers from Lafayette, Orinda, the sheriff’s office and California Highway Patrol were also involved in the chase and resultant search.
Moraga Police Chief Jon King said two men in the car at the time were both taken into custody. On Wednesday, Lafayette Police Chief Ben Alldritt identified the pair as Adam Johnson, 27, and Alfonzo Turner, Jr., 26, both of Oakland.
Alldritt said officers arrested Johnson for evading police officers, residential burglary, possession of stolen property, and probation violation and Turner for residential burglary, possession of stolen property, and probation violation. Johnson is currently in the hospital being treated for injuries as a result of the collision and is being held on a bail of $575,000, Alldritt said. Turner has been booked at the Martinez Detention Facility and is being held on a bail of $275,000.
No one else was injured and no other car involved in the ensuing chase.
One Wednesday, Alldritt praised the homeowner for her quick thinking and accurate description of the car and suspect.
“We are pleased with the teamwork demonstrated by our citizens and surrounding law enforcement agencies,” he said.
Anyone with additional information can contact Lafayette Police Detective Sergeant Rossberg at tross@so.cccounty.us.
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Did he steal anything, or was he scared off? I would rather see someone running out of my house than meet him inside the house, especially if he’s armed.
@Danielle – Unknown at this time. Still developing. Running through a creekbed in Canyon as we speak.
Go get em!!!
Holy Crap they were moving along St. Marys road.
Those flash alerts were coming fast and furious!
@Sabrina – Yes, Adam looks exhausted. Busy Tuesday.
(Edit)Well that was something.
Fake news. Nothing like that ever happens in Moraga.
Wow – I don’t know if I would have tried using Canyon as an escape, they usually run for the freeway don’t they? Those turns can be unforgiving.
@Pat – They can be, Pat. And they were again today.
I am glad there were no bike riders on canyon at that time. I assumed! Because that can be dangerous especially with a police chase
Where are the criminals from?
There were cyclists in the vicinity during the chase and after the crash. It was a rather harrowing experience for us. I was the closest cyclist to crash and had heard sirens but was unaware of the chase because I was approaching from the opposite direction. Only when I heard the loud crash did i realize that there had been a chase. The driver jumped out of the car as I arrived and was running away up the road toward me. The first officer on scene approached the car and told the passenger to not move. Continued riding away from the scene of the crash and met cyclists passed by the get away car and chasing police vehicles. As I continued on many more police and fire vehicles approached at high speed driving down the middle of a narrow road to assist at the crash site. While the police and fire departments were trying to do their jobs, I felt endangered.
We have such a cohesive and terrific Police Dept. working together to get these criminals. I have such admiration and appreciation for their service. Yours, too. NEWS24/680! Can’t imagine chasing some critters through the creekbeds in Canyon. Kudos again for the terrific job our security teams are doing!
@Jack – may want to get a hands free system so you can get Flash Alerts while riding! They have saved me twice now.
Daylight burglaries with perps kicking in our doors and then running away from police at high speed endangering even more people. It’s amazing these jokers didn’t run someone down. Probably running on meth
>> Loto <<< Maybe cyclists could have helped…. "riding 5 abreast" would have stopped traffic and the police could have caught up and caught the out of town bad guys. 🙂
@BP – We know you’re joking a little, BP… you’re joking, right? But we’ll take a brave stance here and have to oppose the idea of putting people in spandex on 15 pound bikes in front of hell-bent Audis running at 65mph!
🙂
I`m curious if they came in from Oakland thru Moraga`s `back.door` Canyon Bridge? Frankly, I kind of liked it when it was closed, though I know it was a big inconvenience to a lot of people.
Wow.
You were reporting this as it happened?
@Luci – We were, yes.