CPD involved in chase after burglary attempt from Euro Cafe

On October 18, 2021, at approximately 2:47 a.m., Claremont Police Officers responded to Euro Café, located at 546 E. Baseline Road, regarding a commercial burglary alarm. An officer arrived within 30 seconds and saw a suspect running from the business and enter the passenger seat of a black Jeep SUV. The officer attempted to use his patrol vehicle to block the suspects from fleeing, but the suspect vehicle rammed the front of the patrol vehicle and continued to Baseline Road. The suspect vehicle fled westbound on Baseline Road and a vehicle pursuit ensued.

The suspect vehicle drove westbound at a high rate of speed and turned off its lights during the pursuit. The suspect vehicle entered the eastbound off-ramp for the IS-210 freeway at Fruit Street., in the city of La Verne, and proceeded to drive the wrong way on the freeway. Based on the suspect’s actions, the officer terminated the vehicle pursuit.

While checking the IS-210 freeway for the suspect vehicle, an officer located a traffic collision on the freeway, west of Fruit Street, involving the suspect vehicle and another vehicle. It was determined that the suspect vehicle was unoccupied, and officers responded to the area to search for the suspects.

One suspect (passenger) was located hiding in the bushes along the south embankment of the freeway, near the traffic collision. Officers from the California Highway Patrol, La Verne Police Department, and a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department helicopter arrived to assist with the incident. Claremont Police Department K9 Drew was also deployed to search for the driver and tracked the suspect up the south embankment and east along the south sound wall of the freeway. The suspect (driver) was located hiding in the bushes. Both suspects were taken into custody without further incident.

The suspect vehicle was later determined to be a reported stolen vehicle through the Ontario Police Department. Inside of the suspect vehicle, officers located three cash registers, one of which belonged to Euro Café. No officers were injured, and no one was injured in the traffic collision caused by the suspects.

The suspects were identified as Dejon Butler, 19 years old from Los Angeles, and a 17-year-old juvenile, who was a reported runaway from a group facility in San Bernardino. Butler was booked on charges of Burglary, Felony Evading, Evading-Driving the Wrong Way, Grand Theft Auto, Possession of a Stolen Vehicle, and Resisting Arrest. Butler was held on $50,000 bail and is scheduled to appear at Pomona Superior Court on Wednesday, October 20, 2021. The juvenile was booked on charges of Burglary and Resisting Arrest and later released to the custody of the group facility on a citation to appear in court.

If you have any information about this crime, please contact the Claremont Police Department at (909) 399-5411.