California Highway Patrol officers arrested a man driving a stolen Los Angeles Police Department car on Interstate 5 in San Juan Capistrano late Wednesday, officials said.
LAPD officers initially responded to 38th and Figueroa streets, near BMO Stadium, after receiving reports that an LAPD patrol vehicle was stolen from a special event around 8 p.m., according to the department.
The police car, a marked black-and-white Crown Victoria with a light bar, was reportedly stolen from that location roughly 10 minutes earlier and headed east on 27th Street toward Hope before entering the 110 Freeway.
A spokesperson for the CHP Southern Division said its officers had been notified of the theft and were on the lookout.
About 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, CHP officers in Orange County responded to a suspicious circumstances call reporting a police vehicle on I-5 near La Paz in Laguna Hills.
CHP Capistrano area officers spotted the vehicle with its rear amber lights flashing and stopped the car near Ortega Highway, a CHP supervisor confirmed to NBC Los Angeles.
The driver was detained by CHP officers and turned over to the LAPD, along with the stolen vehicle.
The LAPD would handle the arrest of the alleged suspect, the CHP supervisor confirmed.