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Wrong way chase suspect facing multiple charges

A man who allegedly led police on a reckless 45-minute road chase through the coastal San Diego area last spring before abandoning his car in the East Village and escaping on foot was in custody Fr...

SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A man who allegedly led police on a reckless 45-minute road chase through the coastal San Diego area last spring before abandoning his car in the East Village and escaping on foot was in custody Friday following his arrest in Rancho Penasquitos.
   
Officers investigating a report of a suspicious person in a neighborhood near the northern reaches of Black Mountain Open Space Park found Ahren Michael Haugley, 41, passed out in a stolen car in the 11200 block of Paseo Montanoso about 9:30 a.m. Thursday, according to San Diego police.
   
When roused, Haugley, who allegedly had a methamphetamine pipe on his lap, refused to cooperate with the patrol personnel and became combative, Lt. Scott Wahl said. The officers were able to take him into custody following a brief scuffle, the lieutenant said.
   
The pursuit for which Haugley was being sought for more than two months began in similar fashion.
   
About 5:15 p.m. on April 28, officers responding to a request to check on a man's welfare found Haugley sitting in a parked red Honda Accord in the area of Caminito Eastbluff and Via Sonoma in the La Jolla Village area, according to police.
   
Seeing the officers, Haugley drove off, and they followed him and tried to pull him over.
   
Haugley allegedly refused to yield and fled to the north through La Jolla, driving at high speed and so erratically that police soon decided to back off the chase for safety reasons. At one point, the fleeing driver drove in reverse at high speed up a freeway onramp past oncoming traffic.
   
The suspect continued to the north, at one point pulling over briefly in a commercial parking lot in Del Mar before continuing to drive in the direction of Solana Beach.
   
Near the Del Mar Race Track, he turned to the east, then entered Interstate 5 and headed south as news helicopters tracked his movements from above.
   
Making his way through heavy rush-hour traffic, the fleeing motorist proceeded through Carmel Valley, merged onto Interstate 805 and then entered state Route 163. He then traversed Mission Valley and Hillcrest and continued into downtown San Diego.
   
A police helicopter crew watched as the suspect drove on city streets for a short distance and pulled into an underground parking lot below a multi- use building in the 900 block of F Street, six blocks from downtown SDPD headquarters.
   
Officers converged on the structure and found the Accord abandoned inside the parkade. They then fanned out in the area and searched in vain for Haugley for about 90 minutes before calling off the effort.
   
During the chase, however, police had been able to identify the suspect.
   
Haugley was being held this afternoon in San Diego Central Jail on $40,000 bail pending arraignment, scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.

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