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On Sunday, November 22 short but wild car chase ended abruptly at 10:46 a.m. when a 39-year-old Claremont man crashed his vehicle into a tree, revealing an assortment of drugs and a loaded handgun. It began when CPD officers attempted to pull over a suspicious car near Indian Hill Blvd. and Bonita Ave. Police say the driver, Marcos Elizade, instead took off southbound on Indian Hill and then turned left on Arrow Hwy., reaching speeds of up to 60 miles-per-hour before crashing into a tree in front of  LA West Liquors in the 300 block of Arrow Hwy. Cops detained both Mr. Martinez and his passenger, Erica Lopez, 36. A search of the car allegedly turned up the loaded .380 pistol, and enough methamphetamine, heroin and the prescription benzodiazepine sedative Xanax to lead officers to believe the drugs were for sale. They were both arrested on two felony counts of possession of a firearm with narcotics involved, and possession of a loaded firearm, and one misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia, a meth pipe. Mr. Martinez was also charged with eluding arrest, for the car chase, as well as a probation violation for a previous conviction. Since neither suspect would say who the handgun belonged to, police took DNA swabs from both of them, and from the handgun. They’re awaiting test results to determine the gun’s owner.

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