Carjacking suspect who led police on a crazy pursuit in LA and OC facing up to 54 years in prison

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A 33-year-old parolee who led multiple law enforcement agencies in a multi-county high speed pursuit that ended in an officer-involved shooting in Whittier has been charged with multiple felonies, including felony assaults on eight law enforcement officers.

Johnny Anchondo, 33, of Moreno Valley, has been charged with one felony count of carjacking, one felony count of first-degree burglary, eight felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon not a firearm on a peace officer, one felony count of assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm and two felony counts of theft with a prior felony conviction of taking of a vehicle.

He has also been charged with one felony count of evading a peace officer/reckless driving, one felony count of resisting an executive officer, three felony counts of vandalism with damage of $400 or more, three misdemeanor counts of hit and run with property damage, one misdemeanor counts of evading a peace officer and driving against traffic, one misdemeanor count of brandishing a weapon, one misdemeanor count of possession of a controlled substance, and one misdemeanor count of possession of controlled substance paraphernalia.

The Orange County District Attorney’s Office is legally allowed to prosecute all of the crimes committed in both Orange and Los Angeles Counties because it was a continuing crime that continued into Los Angeles County.

Anchondo, who is on parole for attempted carjacking and evading police, faces a maximum sentence of 54 years if convicted on all counts. He is currently being held in custody in Los Angeles County.

On November 9, 2022, at approximately 6:46 p.m. Fullerton police attempted to pull over a man, later identified as Johnny Anchondo, for vehicle violations. Anchondo is accused of driving to a condo complex and leaving his vehicle to flee on foot.

He is accused of then stealing a parked white van, but when Fullerton police attempt to block him in with a police car, Anchondo is accused of repeatedly reversing the van into the police car and fleeing in the stolen van.

Anchondo leads police on a high speed pursuit with speeds reaching nearly 100 miles per hour before abandons the disabled vehicle in Whittier. He is then seen running into a Whittier home where he is accused of stealing a set of truck keys while threatening the owner with a pair of scissors. The owners of the truck attempt to keep Anchondo from stealing the vehicle by trying to close a metal gate, but he gets in the truck drives through the gate and escapes.

The pursuit continues for another 40 minutes through Los Angeles County during which Anchondo is seen hitting several civilian vehicles with the stolen truck and nearly collides with several Los Angeles County Sheriff’s vehicles attempting to block him in a cul-de-sac. Anchondo is seen hitting two more civilian vehicles before being rammed several times by two Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department vehicles.

Anchondo then reverses the stolen truck into a Sheriff’s vehicle, nearly running over two Los Angeles Sheriff’s County deputies, and an officer-involved shooting occurs. Anchondo was not injured in the shooting.

“The victims in this case can rest assured that the Orange County District Attorney’s Office will do everything in its power to hold this dangerous individual accountable for the dozens of crimes he committed across two different counties,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “It is only by the grace of God that an innocent person wasn’t seriously injured or killed by someone who was hell bent on doing whatever he could to try to escape, including stealing multiple vehicles and assaulting numerous law enforcement officers.”

Deputy District Attorney Dustin Chupurdy of Special Prosecutions is prosecuting this case.