Suspect Fleeing Police Stole Legos Before Crashing into Woman’s Car
LA PALMA, Calif. (Dec. 26, 2024) – Marianne Mildred Casey, 67, died Dec. 18th in a violent crash at La Palma Avenue and Moody Street when a grocery store thief fleeing police hit her vehicle.
Anthony Hanzel, 40, of Anaheim, reportedly T-boned the woman’s blue BMW at the La Palma intersection after he led police on a drug-fueled, high-speed pursuit from Fullerton where he stole a box of Legos from a grocery store.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office has charged the Anaheim man with “one felony count of evading a peace officer causing death, and one felony count of petty theft with two prior convictions.”
If he is convicted on all counts, Anthony Hanzel faces a maximum sentence of 26 years and four months in prison.
The Anaheim man remains in jail without bail and is scheduled to be arraigned on January 6, 2025, at the North Justice Center in Fullerton in Department N12.
The deadly crash followed a petty theft at a Fullerton Albertson’s grocery store on Dec. 18th, 2024.
An undercover Fullerton police officer witnessed the suspect taking boxes of Legos from the shelves and stuffing them into a bag before leaving the store without paying, the OCDA release said.
The man was followed to his car by the undercover police officer who called patrol officers to make a traffic stop. However, the suspect sped off and failed to pull over.
First, the suspect rear-ended a vehicle stopped at a red light on Brookhurst Street. The driver fled the scene and got on the westbound 91 freeway. He exited at Knott Avenue in Buena Park and local police took over the pursuit. This led to a high-speed chase through the city of La Palma and ended at La Palma Avenue and Moody Street.
Hanzal reportedly ran through a red traffic light and crashed into the driver’s side of a BMW driven by Mildred Casey.
Police arrested Hanzal who was allegedly under the influence of drugs at the time.
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Johnson Attorneys Group is a personal injury law firm serving clients who are injured in California due to a negligent motorist. If you would like to contribute any information or have legal questions, please call 1-(855) 703-4186 as soon as possible. Our personal injury law firm is a proud, longtime supporter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).
Source: OCDA, Los Angeles Times, ABC News
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