Four search helicopters circled the area surrounding Malibu campus Thursday afternoon after a man, who had been stopped by sheriff’s deputies, drove the vehicle over the edge of the cliff in an attempt to evade them.
Around 1:44 p.m. on Thursday Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies stopped a reportedly stolen Honda Element on Malibu Canyon Road. After refusing to exit the vehicle the driver drove the vehicle over the edge and down the embankment. The man’s wife, who was in the passenger seat, jumped out of the vehicle seconds before it plunged 150 feet off Malibu Canyon Road according to the Los Angeles Times. The man then exited the vehicle and fled. Helicopters from the Sheriff’s department as well as others from search & rescue and the fire department were dispatched to search for the suspect from the air.
Shortly after 11:30 p.m. on Friday evening, April 21st, the Malibu/Lost Hills Station Sheriff’s deputies arrested suspect Michael Kheop. The arrest was made after the deputies received a call from a Malibu resident stating the Kheop had returned to his home in Malibu. The deputies responded to the area and found Kheop hiding in a nearby community laundry room, according to a Malibu/Los Hills Station press release. The arrest was made without incident and he was booked at the Malibu/Los Hills Sheriff Station on suspicion of taking a vehicle without owner’s consent and attempted murder.
