Santa Cruz police arrested a transient following a vandalism investigation early Thursday morning. Shortly after midnight patrol units responded to reports of a man throwing a chair through a window after he was asked to leave a business on the 2200 block of Mission Street. Officers were unable to locate the suspect until they were called back to the scene after 1 a.m. where they located 43 year old Michael Richards. Richards fled the scene in a vehicle and a pursuit ensued. At one point the suspect ramed a police car. Richards was apprehended after an hour long standoff in the San Lorenzo River. Multiple charges are pending.
