A 20-year-old man was arrested Saturday afternoon near Joshua Tree National Park after an 11-hour manhunt that began when he allegedly got out of his vehicle after a police chase, fired a weapon and fled the scene.
No law enforcement officers were injured, according to a statement from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, which assisted Riverside County Sheriff’s Department personnel.
Jonathan Rodriguez was arrested without incident, according to the statement, at about 2:22 p.m. Saturday at a home on Pueblo Trail in the small community of Joshua Tree, adjacent to the national park.
He had not yet been booked into the city’s Morongo Basin Jail as of early Saturday evening, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Mara Rodriguez said by email, adding that information about the suspect’s vehicle and the gun he allegedly fired was not available.
The arrest ended a pursuit that began when deputies with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department attempted to pull over a vehicle near Camino Idilio and Palm Drive in Desert Hot Springs for “a vehicle code violation,” according to a statement from the department.
Rodriguez allegedly failed to stop, so deputies pursued him onto westbound I-10 from Date Palm onto Highway 62, and then onto Yucca Trail and Airway Avenue, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department statement.
San Bernardino County sheriff’s personnel took over the chase, and the chase ended in the 60800 block of Mountain View Trail, a stretch of scenic road just outside the northwest boundary of Joshua Tree National Park. Rodriguez allegedly exited his vehicle, “fired several shots from a firearm,” then fled, according to the San Bernardino County statement.
The investigation into the incident continues, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. Authorities asked anyone with relevant information to call San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Dispatch at (909) 387-8313 or anonymously leave information at (800) 782-7463 or www.wetips.com.