Young couple suspected in drive-by shooting lead police on chase with 2 young children in the backseat

Two people suspected of opening fire at a crowd in Anaheim led police Wednesday on a violent pursuit through Orange County, ramming their car into officers’ vehicles as they tried to elude capture.

At one point, the suspects’ car crashed, flipped over and landed on its wheels, allowing the chase to continue.

The pursuit finally came to a halt on a dead-end street in Tustin, where the driver managed to ram his car into a police cruiser one final time before being hemmed in by police and surrendering.

Officers arrested Juan Monzon, 24, of Anaheim and his girlfriend, 21-year-old Crystal Rincon of Santa Ana, according to Anaheim Police Sgt. Daron Wyatt.

Inside the car were two 4-year-old girls, relatives of Rincon, who were unharmed during the chase, Wyatt said.

The case arose from a Nov. 28 incident when police were called out on a report that a man had repeatedly hit another man with a rifle at Sycamore and Rose streets in Anaheim, Wyatt said.

The victim fled and has not been identified. The assailant hopped in a getaway car and shot at a crowd of witnesses as he fled, police said. No one was injured.

Police identified Monzon as the suspected gunman and his girlfriend, Rincon, as the getaway driver, Wyatt said.

On Wednesday, gang detectives conducted surveillance at Rincon’s residence in the 1200 block of South Standard Avenue in Santa Ana. Rincon allegedly arrived at the residence and quickly drove off, prompting the chase. Police spotted Monzon in the front seat, next to his girlfriend.

The car attempted to evade police and after they hit traffic in Tustin, Monzon took over as the driver, Wyatt said. Two police cars did manage to block his car — with one police cruiser in the front, another at the rear — but Monzon allegedly rammed into each several times. Wyatt said he made enough room to drive off.

At one point, Monzon’s car collided with another vehicle, rolled over and landed on its wheels, then sped off as a Tustin police cruiser trailed.

During the pursuit, police said Monzon tossed out a loaded handgun that was later recovered.

After their arrest, Rincon and Monzon were taken to a hospital. Each was booked on suspicion of attempted murder, assault with a firearm, child endangerment and other firearms charges.

Both were being held on $500,000 bail.

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Twitter: @MattHjourno.