90 mph chase through Newport, Costa Mesa ends in man’s arrest near Trinity Broadcasting

A driver whom police suspect was on drugs was arrested after a chase through Newport Beach and Costa Mesa that reached 90 mph early Tuesday, authorities said.

Investigators are trying to determine whether Luis Alfonso Rivera, 21, of Huntington Beach is linked to a robbery on the Balboa Peninsula minutes before the pursuit began.

Just before 3 a.m., a woman left her Mercedes-Benz idling outside her home while she stepped inside, according to police. When she returned to her car, she found a man inside going through her purse, Newport Beach police spokeswoman Jennifer Manzella said.

The woman and the man had a “brief physical altercation” and he ran off with more than $1,000 in cash from the purse, Manzella said.

Police began searching the area, and about 10 minutes later an officer saw a man who matched the robber’s description driving a white Nissan Maxima near 32nd Street and Newport Boulevard, according to police. The Maxima was reported stolen from Huntington Beach, Manzella said.

“The officer saw the driver make eye contact with him and then noticeably accelerate his vehicle at a high rate of speed,” Manzella said.

The chase began, “with a lot of erratic driving at high speeds,” Manzella said. The driver kept accelerating, ran a red light at Hospital Road and refused to pull over, Manzella said.

As the pursuit entered Costa Mesa, officers from that city joined in and an Orange County Sheriff’s Department helicopter began tracking the car.

The chase continued along Bristol Street until the Maxima pulled into a residential neighborhood, police said.

The driver stopped on Olympic Avenue where it dead-ends at the Trinity Broadcasting Network headquarters just off the 405 Freeway, authorities said. The driver fled from the car.

The helicopter crew saw Rivera in a bush, and officers coaxed him out, Manzella said. He was arrested on suspicion of felony evading arrest, taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent, driving under the influence of drugs, narcotics possession and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to police.

A warrant was out for Rivera’s arrest, although the Newport Beach Police Department could not immediately provide details.

The woman who was robbed before the chase began could not identify Rivera as the robber, Manzella said. But investigators are still exploring whether he is tied to that incident.

According to court records, Rivera has multiple felony convictions, including pleading guilty to stealing a car and receiving stolen property in 2013.

In 2013 and 2014, Rivera pleaded guilty to charges stemming from multiple arrests, including eight drug-related misdemeanors and two counts of resisting arrest.

Records also indicate that Rivera has a felony case pending in Orange County Superior Court for charges from 2014 that include theft, evading a police officer and reckless driving.