Suspect pleads not guilty to murder John...

Suspect pleads not

guilty to murder

John Steadman Nilsen pleaded not guilty Thursday to murder and

armed robbery charges stemming from the shooting death of a

19-year-old store clerk.

Nilsen made the plea in Superior Court in Westminster after

receiving continuances on two occasions.

Nilsen is being held at Orange County Jail without bail. He was

paroled in October 2003 after receiving a 25-year sentence for a

kidnapping conviction in 1989. He is accused of murdering Shawna

Wolfgram, a Huntington Beach resident, during a hold-up at the 99

Cents Only store on Beach Boulevard in January. He could face the

death penalty if convicted.

Car chase Downtown ends in one arrest

A Coto de Caza man was arrested Tuesday after leading police on a

short chase through Downtown Huntington Beach.

At about 3:40 p.m., officers in a helicopter saw a gray Mitsubishi

speeding and committing various other unspecified traffic violations

in the area around 19th and Walnut streets. When a patrol car tried

to make a traffic stop, the driver sped away.

Police chased the driver, John Thomas Alden, 30, west on Olive

Street to Goldenwest Street, and from there to Yorktown Avenue,

Huntington Beach Police Sgt. Dave Bunetta said. Alden then turned

south on Main Street and drove back into Downtown. In addition to the

helicopter, officers and a supervisor in three police cars pursued

Alden, but the cars were ordered to hold off during the chase to

reduce the risk of a crash with an innocent bystander.

Once the chase came full circle, Alden and a passenger bolted from

the car. Police in the helicopter broadcasted where the two were

going. Alden was arrested after a foot chase at about 4 p.m., but the

passenger escaped.

The Mitsubishi had no license plates, and police determined the

car was stolen in San Diego. Alden was arrested on suspicion of grand

theft auto, felony evasion of police in a car and fleeing from police

on foot. He is being held without bail because he was on parole.