There were some unexpected “fireworks” on the Fourth of July, when a suspected car thief crashed a stolen luxury car into the street light pole at the corner of Glenoaks Blvd. and San Jose Ave., early in the afternoon.

According to police, an officer on patrol checked the license number of a Bentley that was on San Jose Ave.  The plate came back as stolen.  The car had been reported stolen earlier on July 4, at the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department’s Lost Hills Station.   When the officer attempted to pull the car over, the driver sped away, going just a short distance before crashing into a street light pole and a parked car in the 300 block of E. San Jose Ave.

The driver then fled on foot into the residential neighborhood, with the officer in hot pursuit.  A citizen directed officers to a storage shed where the suspect was hiding. The suspect, Gerjuan Deshon Harmon, 29, of Pasadena, was taken into custody in the 400 block of E. Cypress Ave., about a block from where he had crashed the car.  He was wearing a motorcycle helmet, and  United States flag themed pants.

Burbank Fire Department paramedics responded to the scene, and transported the suspect to the hospital.  The man’s head was covered with a hood as he was wheeled away on a stretcher. According to police, this is standard procedure when a suspect is spitting at officers and paramedics.

Despite it being a holiday, a repair crew from Burbank Water and Power was called out to the scene.  The crash had downed a live electrical line.

The Bentley coupe, which is manufactured by Rolls-Royce, has a manufacturer’s suggested retail price in the $170,000 range.  The registered owner lives in Oxnard.

The stolen Bentley crashed in the 300 block of E. San Jose Ave., knocking a parked Toyota onto the sidewalk, and taking out a street light pole. (Photo By John Savageau)

Police examine the vehicle for evidence (Photo By John Savageau)

The suspect from the accident was restrained before being transported to the hospital. (Photo By John Savageau)