Pomona, CA—Police arrested a gang member on suspicion of gun and drug violations on March 16, after he ran from officers and was found hiding in a refrigerator, officials said.
Michael Ruben Lopez Jr., 23, of Upland was booked on suspicion of numerous gun-and firearm-related crimes following the 12:30 a.m. incident on the 100 block of West Kingsley Avenue, Pomona Police Department Cpl. J. Hernandez said in a written statement.
Lopez was a passenger in a car that police assigned to a gang suppression task force pulled over for traffic violations, the corporal said. Once the car stopped, he got out of the car and ran.
“The suspect, later identified as Michael Lopez Jr., began scaling fences within a residential neighborhood,” according to Hernandez.
Police set up a search perimeter, with help from a police helicopter.
A “heat source” detected by the airship’s infrared system led police to a refrigerator.
“Inside of a closed refrigerator, the suspect was located hiding,” Hernandez said. “The Suspect was taken into custody without incident.”
After a search of the immediate area, police found a loaded gun, a second ammunition magazine and a small amount of drugs.
Lopez was being held without bail pending his initial court appearance, according to Los Angeles County booking records.
Police: Fleeing Southern California gang member found hiding in refrigerator https://t.co/6f4UjuU3DB
— Mercury News (@mercnews) March 18, 2019
Other Cases of Suspects Hiding Inside Refrigerator
There have been many cases of suspects trying to find safe haven inside a refrigerator.
Police looking for a Connecticut man in connection with the shooting death of his girlfriend found him inside a refrigerator on March 12, after a month of searching.
Benjamin Morales, 43, was found hiding inside a refrigerator inside a home in Georgetown County, reported the San Francisco Chronicle.
Morales didn’t resist arrest and police did not fire any shots. Police wanted him in the Feb. 4 shooting death of his girlfriend, Alice Marie Figueroa, whose body was found in the apartment they shared in New Britain.
Missing Connecticut homicide suspect found hiding in refrigerator in SC home https://t.co/RXnrBTs2P2 pic.twitter.com/dhOrvYnRrp
— News 19 WLTX (@WLTX) March 13, 2019
In another refrigerator-hiding case, a fugitive thief in Russia gave police a shock when he didn’t turn up in the court but instead was found hiding inside a refrigerator in his home in Yekaterinburg, reported the Daily Mail.
Eduard Bulgakov, 31 was due to appear in court on Feb. 19, 2015. Police appeared at his home with an arrest warrant, but Bulgakov’s mother said she didn’t know about his whereabouts.
The police became suspicious when Bulgakov’s mother collected two pizzas from a delivery man. Police searched around the house but wondered why she wasn’t putting anything in the fridge.
Cold case! Russian police catch suspect hiding in his FRIDGE after he fails to turn up at court #MailOnline http://t.co/Ny6Yu8duUW
— mark (@Filmerfilms) February 21, 2015
“When officers and bailiffs went inside they could see that the pizzas had been eaten, and they doubted that the woman had done it on her own.
“So they searched the property, but could not find any sign of him.
“They only found him by chance because the mother seemed to get very uncomfortable when they asked her why she was not putting the last few slices of pizza in the fridge.
“She claimed the electricity had been switched off,” a police spokesman said, according to the Daily Mail.
Inside the refrigerator, Bulgakov was shivering from the cold. He was given a hot drink and was allowed to warm up before being arrested.
The Epoch Times reporter Venus Upadhayaya contributed to this report.