A robbery investigation turned into a tense scene in North Hollywood on Friday morning when a suspect fleeing Los Angeles police ran through residential yards and into an occupied home.
LAPD officers were pursuing a green Ford Mustang driven by a person wanted in connection with a robbery. Police followed the vehicle onto the 101 Freeway and into the San Fernando Valley. The exact location where the pursuit began had not been released.
The suspect eventually stopped the Mustang in the Valley Glen area and took off on foot.
Aerial video showed the man running through several yards and crossing into residential backyards before entering a home near the 12800 block of Welby Way in North Hollywood.
Inside the house, Chloe Conwi said she discovered the suspect sitting in her shower. She said he appeared to be trying to keep her calm and encouraged her to come closer.
Instead, Conwi ran from the house with her dog.
“I just started sprinting out,” Conwi said, describing the moment as one of the most frightening experiences of her life.
Police quickly surrounded the home and approached the front entrance with their firearms drawn. The standoff was brief. Officers soon brought the suspect outside in handcuffs.
LAPD identified the suspect as Joshua Villareal.
Family members confronted the suspect
Before officers took Villareal into custody, Conwi’s brothers confronted him inside the house.
Martin Conwi said he was leaving his bedroom when he encountered the suspect in the hallway. He said he immediately moved to restrain him because his family was inside the home.
Martin said he pulled Villareal down and moved him toward the living room, where another brother helped hold him until police arrived.
The family’s pug, Kumo, also became involved as the brothers tried to keep the suspect from getting away.
Martin said Villareal asked them to let him go and told them he was trying to hide from police.
For the Conwi family, the incident was frightening, but Chloe said she was not surprised that her brothers stepped in to protect the household.
“I’m scared for the guy, not even for my brothers,” she said.
Martin, 20, said he had previously learned a takedown technique while serving as an explorer with the California Highway Patrol. He is now applying to join the CHP.
The arrest followed a pursuit that began with a robbery investigation and ended after the suspect abandoned his vehicle and tried to escape on foot through a residential neighborhood.
Police have not publicly released additional details about the robbery that led to the pursuit. The investigation remains ongoing.
