Arroyo officer's gun ended chase
A carjacker who had authorities speeding after him for 100 miles opened fire on plainclothes police, who then shot back, killing him
Arroyo Grande Police Officer Albert L. Beattie and Paso Robles Police Officer Roger Degnan were stopped to help a motorist on the shoulder of Highway 101 north of Santa Barbara on Friday when a man who had led authorities on a violent, 100-mile chase drove toward them and opened fire.
Beattie shot back, killing the man, authorities said Saturday.
Degnan was struck on the neck by a bullet or glass from a shattered windshield, Paso Robles Police Chief Dennis Cassidy said. "At this point, it's more than likely he was struck by the projectile that had lost its velocity," he said. Degnan was treated at the scene for bruising and did not need to be hospitalized, Cassidy said. Beattie has been placed on paid administrative leave as part of standard procedure during incidents involving deadly force.
Authorities had yet to release the man's identity Saturday night, though they believe he and another suspect may have been wanted by police in San Jose in connection with a crime spree.
The two officers were returning from a narcotics task force assignment in Santa Barbara County with four other plainclothes officers in unmarked cars when they came upon the chase that involved multiple carjackings, vacationers taken hostage and bullets fired on the freeway.
CHP officers began the pursuit 107 miles away in Atascadero about noon when they tried to stop two men in a white Toyota minivan going about 95 mph on Highway 101. The men continued south through San Luis Obispo until spike strips punctured the right front tire of the van at the Spyglass Drive exit in Shell Beach. They continued traveling at about 80 mph on the wheel's rim with sparks flying and fired their guns at CHP vehicles, Pismo Beach Police Department officials said.
The men pulled off the highway at Five Cities Drive, and passenger Nicandro Sanchez of San Jose ran from the van but was arrested by Pismo officers. The unidentified man fired at officers and carjacked a black Jeep Cherokee with three occupants still inside. The man sped into Santa Barbara County at about 100 mph and called CHP officials on a cell phone to say he wasn't going to stop unless they called off the pursuit. The Jeep ran out of gas near Gaviota, where the man tried to carjack the vehicle next to him. When that failed, he carjacked a moving van with two men inside who ran from the van, Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Sgt. Erik Raney said.
A spike strip punctured the truck's tires, and the man made a U-turn on the freeway at El Capitan Ranch Road where he encountered the plainclothes officers and the violent chase came to an end.
Raney did not return repeated calls Saturday night for information on the name or city of residence of the unidentified man. Pismo Beach police said the man's relatives had not been contacted Saturday afternoon.
Sanchez is being held on $500,000 bail at County Jail on suspicion of criminal conspiracy, attempted murder, carrying a concealed weapon, possession of a firearm, being under the influence of a controlled substance and receiving known/stolen property, jail officials said.
