CHP officers arrest suspect who fired gun from truck in Walnut Creek
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. (BCN) - A suspect who fired a handgun out of a white truck late Saturday night on a highway in Walnut Creek was arrested along with the driver of the vehicle he was in, California Highway Patrol officials said today.
At 11:23 p.m., a dispatcher notified CHP officers that a citizen reported seeing a passenger in a Nissan pickup truck fire a handgun from the vehicle near Interstate Highway 680 and state Highway 24.
The citizen informed dispatchers that the truck transitioned to northbound state Highway 242.
Officers got in position to intercept the truck on eastbound state Highway 4 at San Marco Boulevard in Pittsburg. Officers spotted the truck and caught up with it and it was indeed a white Nissan truck as had been reported, CHP officials said.
Officers asked for help before trying to stop the vehicle. The truck exited the highway at Loveridge Road and went north. The driver turned right onto North Park Boulevard and then pulled into a WinCo Foods parking lot, according to the CHP.
Officers detained the driver without any trouble, but the passenger fled when officers tried to get him out of the truck, CHP officials said.
The suspect placed his hands on himself near the front of his waistband as he ran and CHP and Pittsburg police officers chased him until they stopped him near the Home Depot next to WinCo Foods.
The suspect resisted arrest and officers had to use force to arrest him, according to the CHP. The suspect was taken to Sutter Delta Medical Center for medical care and then was discharged and taken into CHP custody. His name was not immediately released.
A search of the truck turned up a 9mm handgun matching the description of the one the citizen described.
Officers also found two ammunition magazines, spent shell casings and live rounds of ammunition. Individually bagged marijuana, a scale and about $2,200 in cash were also found, according to the CHP.
CHP officials said witnesses who call 911 with accurate details and locations are key to finding and arresting suspects in cases like Saturday's shooting.