Man in dramatic car chase confirmed as Singh murder suspect
DOWNEY - A man involved in a dangerous police pursuit and shoot-out on Friday has been identified by officials as the same suspect in the liquor store murder case which occurred earlier this week.
It had only been a few days since 44-year-old Gurpreet Singh was found dead behind the counter at ASL Liquor Market in the evening hours on Tuesday, May 7 after what officials are calling an attempted robbery.
Downey Police Department have since identified the suspect as 24-year-old Dylan Lindsey of Torrance, who was tracked down by officials on Friday.
According Downey Police Lieutenant Kathleen Mendoza, DPD had received several tips leading them to the city of Maywood, where things quickly escalated.
“This afternoon, outside a residence in the city of Maywood, [investigators] observed a man that appeared to be our suspect from the homicide get into a vehicle and leave the location,” said Mendoza. “As assisting officers attempted to stop that vehicle, a vehicle pursuit ensued. During the pursuit, shots were fired by the suspect at the pursuing officers, and an officer involved shooting occurred.”
During the pursuit, Lindsey leaned outside of the passenger side window several times, using a large-caliber handgun which strongly resembled the weapon footage from the night of the liquor store murder that officials had released earlier that week.
The chase would ultimately end on Bandini Boulevard just east of Downey Road in the city of Vernon, where some final exchange of gunfire took place.
During the exchange, the female driver of the vehicle exited with her arms raised and surrendered to police. She has been identified as 37-year-old Alison Hart of Redondo Beach.
It still took over an hour for officials to safely approach and extract the suspect with the use of SWAT, bomb squad, canine, and drone units.
Officials say that Lindsey was struck by gunfire multiple times, including a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He was transported to a nearby hospital where he is currently listed in critical condition.
Hart was also struck by gunfire, and was treated for non-life-threatening injuries at a local medical center. Officials have not yet released the relationship between Hart and Lindsey. She is currently being held on $2 million bail and is reported to be in court sometime this week.
According to Mendoza, the vehicle involved in Friday’s chase – a black Toyota Prius – was not involved in Tuesday’s robbery as far as DPD can tell.
No police or sheriff’s personnel were injured during the incident, however two DPD vehicles were struck by gunfire. One bystander who was down-range of the scene was struck by gunfire, however their injury is described as a “superficial graze wound.”
While DPD will continue to oversee the liquor store homicide case, Los Angeles Sheriff’s will handle the police-involved shooting investigation.