Woman Accused Of Abducting Son From School Arrested In Marina Del Rey After Short Chase

VENICE (CBSLA.com) — A woman accused of kidnapping her six-year-old son from his elementary school in Venice was arrested in Marina del Rey Wednesday evening after a short police pursuit.

Officers gave chase after Nisha Burnett's 2004 gold or tan BMW was spotted in the Marina del Rey area shortly after 7 p.m.

During the pursuit, the 35-year-old stopped in the middle of Venice Boulevard, put both hands out the window and waved some kind of shiny object in her hand. Her son, West Burnett, could be seen in the passenger seat.

When a police cruiser stopped in front of her car in an attempt to block her, she drove around the police SUV and took off at a high speed.

At one point, she drove on the wrong side of the street to get around other cars before turning right on Lincoln Boulevard.

She then pulled into the parking lot of the Harley-Davidson dealership, ditcher her car, grabbed her son and ran into the shop.

The arrest came about 11 hours after she took her son around 8:30 a.m. from Coeur D' Alene Avenue Elementary School, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

After his mother's arrest, the boy was reunited with his father and his aunt and legal guardian, Lia Hein, who has custody of him.

"It's unreal to me. It's not shocking because she tried to take him from me in November. To me, she's just so unpredictable. I'm an RN and worked in mental health in the past," Hein said. "So I know how it can go. You just can never predict that kind of thing. I just want her to get help and stay away."

When asked how he was feeling, West told CBS2's Rachel Kim: "I'm happy now."

Earlier in the afternoon at a news conference, Hein said she was concerned for her nephew's safety because of the mental condition of his mother.

"She's mentally ill, and she has been on drugs recently," said Hein.

At least two restraining orders have been filed against Burnett, who does not have child custody rights.

"There's a restraining order against her for the next two years because of possible endangerment of the child," Hein added.