An Artesia man was arrested Sunday after fleeing police following an attempted breaking and entering at a local apartment complex.
Artesia Police Department officers were dispatched around 6 p.m. Sunday to Building D in the Abo Apartments in reference to a breaking and entering in progress.
Upon arrival, police noticed a male subject matching the description given by the reporting party crouched near an apartment door with a screwdriver. He told officers he was attempting to open the door for the resident, who was not present.
Officers recognized the man as Ernesto Lopez, 24, of Artesia, for whom they were aware active warrants had been issued, and attempted to detain him. Lopez jumped off the landing and began to run, leading police on an approximately 10-minute foot chase before being taken into custody.
Lopez was arrested on charges of resisting, evading or obstructing an officer, possession of burglary tools, and criminal damage to property. He was previously arrested in October 2017 on charges of burglary of a vehicle and larceny ($250 or less) but did not appear for preliminary examination Feb. 7, prompting a warrant to be issued for his arrest for failure to appear and violating the conditions of release.
