BAY POINT — A sheriff's helicopter used thermal imaging to find a car theft suspect who led police on a chase from Bay Point to Antioch that ended when he crashed into a light pole, the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office said.

Sheriff's deputies spotted a stolen vehicle traveling near Canal and Bailey roads about 10:45 p.m. Wednesday. When they tried to stop it, the vehicle sped away, said sheriff's spokesman Jimmy Lee.

Deputies followed in a pursuit that went through Pittsburg and into Antioch, where the vehicle crashed into the Loew's parking lot near Mahogany Way and Auto Center Drive, taking down a light pole, Lee said. The male suspect got out of the car and ran into a nearby neighborhood.

Authorities searched the area for the man and summoned STARR 2, a sheriff's air unit, which used a thermal imaging camera to track a heat source that was likely the suspect's, Lee said. Using information from the air unit, deputies went to an apartment balcony, where with the help of a police dog they apprehended the suspect.

Deangelo Boone, 27, was arrested on suspicion of vehicle theft, evasion, possession of stolen property and a parole violation. He was treated for a dog bite at a hospital and then taken to County Jail in Martinez where he was held without bail.