Kidnap attempt leads to chase

An attempted kidnapping in Lake Sherwood ended in a four-hour standoff on the 10 Freeway in Alhambra east of downtown Los Angeles Tuesday.

The California Highway Patrol began chasing a male suspect at 8:30 a.m. near the 2100 block of Marsh Brook Road after a foiled kidnapping attempt, authorities said The armed suspect, Dennis Elliot Shellhouse of Phenix City, Ala., represented himself as a courier, entered the gated Lake Sherwood community and met a resident in front of her home. According to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, the man brandished a handgun, produced a ransom note demanding money and tried to take the 35-yearold woman with him.

The woman was able to say, “Call 911” to a neighbor as Shellhouse led her away from her home.

“If she hadn’t done this, things could be quite different,” said Eric Nishimoto, Ventura County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson.

The woman escaped and ran back into the house while the suspect fled. She was not injured.

Deputies quickly caught up with the man, but he sped away in his van. The chase proceeded southbound out of Ventura County and ended in Los Angeles County after a law enforcement spike strip disabled the vehicle’s tires.

Shellhouse had a knife and two guns inside his van and apparently intended to kill himself, authorities said. Los Angeles County Sheriff SWAT teams surrounded the van and tried to talk the man into turning himself in as he held a gun to his head.

About 3:15 p.m., deputies threw a tear gas grenade into the man’s van and shot and wounded him. A police dog helped drag the man out.

Shellhouse was taken to CountyUSC Medical Center for treatment of his injuries.

—Sylvie Belmond