LUCERNE, Calif. — A chase involving law enforcement on Friday afternoon ended in Lucerne with a man wading into the lake to evade capture.

Traffic throughout Lucerne was backed up for some time at around 3 p.m., as the incident was taking place.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said it was only assisting with the situation and deferred statement on the matter to the CHP.

The CHP could only confirm to Lake County News on Friday afternoon that a foot pursuit was taking place and a subject was being sought. At that point, no further information was available, since the incident was ongoing, said Officer Efrain Cortez.

The subject waded into waist deep water offshore of Lucerne near the intersection of Country Club Drive and Hwy 20. The water there appeared too shallow for the Lake County Sheriff’s Marine Patrol, which waited further offshore.

Approximately one dozen law enforcement from various agencies including the California Highway Patrol, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Lake County Probation held positions along the beach.

There was an ongoing conversation between law enforcement and the subject, who walked around in the shallow water.

As he moved around just out of reach he was heard repeating, “Am I under arrest?” He also said, “If I come to shore right now, I'm going to jail,” and “I'm not going to jail.”

As the conversation continued on, several law enforcement personnel appeared to be preparing to be in the sun on the beach for some time by positioning themselves in the shade of a nearby pier.

Another stood with a long gun, blocking the subject's path to the east.

It was unknown at press time if the subject was eventually taken into custody.

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