Man sentenced to 3 years in prison after pleading guilty to leading Laguna Beach police on a chase in a stolen car

A 55-year-old man was sentenced Friday to three years in state prison in connection with a pursuit by Laguna Beach police that led to an officer-involved shooting.

Richard Lyle Lewis of Redlands pleaded guilty during a pretrial hearing to one count of theft with a prior felony conviction of taking of a vehicle and one count of fleeing from a peace officer, both felonies, according to Orange County Superior Court records.

A misdemeanor count of driving without a valid license and a felony count of assault on a peace officer with a weapon that’s not a firearm were dismissed, court records show.

Laguna Beach police arrested Lewis on July 2 after authorities chased him through the city.

Officers tried to pull over a Toyota Corolla that Lewis was driving near South Coast Highway and Thalia Street, Sgt. Jim Cota said at the time. The vehicle had been reported stolen from Palm Springs the day before, authorities said.

Officers followed the vehicle as it turned right onto Thalia, which dead-ends near the beach.

Lewis made a U-turn at the dead end and a woman who was a passenger in the car jumped out. The woman, who was not identified, told officers that she “didn’t want any part of what was happening,” Cota said.

An officer shot at the car as Lewis drove up Thalia Street, but did not strike him.

According to police, Lewis abandoned the car in a driveway in the 600 block of Cuprien Way and ran through the neighborhood, jumping over fences to try to escape. He was eventually arrested in the 600 block of Glomstad Street.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN