A suspect linked to a fatal shooting in Los Angeles earlier this year was taken into custody Friday after allegedly carjacking a man and fleeing authorities while the victim was still entangled in his seatbelt, police and witnesses said.
The victim died after the suspect, Joshua Reneau, 31, dragged him for more than 2 miles during the police pursuit, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a news release.
Reneau was captured after crashing into several police vehicles, flipping his car and barricading himself inside, the department said.
He was hospitalized and is expected to be booked on suspicion of murder, according to the release.
The body of the carjacking victim, who was not identified, was found roughly three houses south of the crash site in Inglewood, the department said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The man had become caught in his seatbelt when Reneau tried to force him from his vehicle, the department said.
Tina Atkins told NBC Los Angeles that she was picking up her children at an after-school program when she saw a “car coming straight at us with a dead body hanging from the bottom.”
“I hopped the curb with my kids in the car because I didn’t want them to hit me,” she told the station.
The chase began after authorities tried to arrest Reneau in connection with July a robbery and fatal shooting in the San Fernando Valley, the department said.
Two other suspects linked to the July crimes were taken into custody Thursday, and when officers tried to pull over a car Reneau was in on Friday, the vehicle allegedly fled, the department said.
The car crashed and Reneau allegedly carjacked an SUV, NBC Los Angeles reported. After fatally dragging its driver and crashing, he allegedly refused to surrender, the department said. He was taken into custody after authorities dispatched a SWAT unit to the scene, the department said.
Reneau is expected in court on Monday, the department said. It wasn't immediately clear if he has a lawyer to speak on his behalf.