LOS ANGELES (CNS) — The California Highway Patrol (CHP) today announced the arrest of a person of interest believed to be responsible for a series of BB gun freeway shootings in Southern California.
Late Tuesday, CHP investigators, with the assistance of officers from the Riverside Police Department, arrested Jesse Leal Rodriguez, 34, of Anaheim, for his involvement in the recent shootings on SR-91. Rodriguez was booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and is being held on $750,000 bail.
At approximately 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, the CHP Riverside Area received multiple calls of vehicles with their windows being shot out in the area of State Route 91 and Tyler Street. Based on information provided by the victims of these shootings, Riverside Police Department and CHP officers located the suspect vehicle and arrested the driver.
Further investigation is actively being conducted to confirm if this individual is the suspect associated with the recent series of BB gun incidents that have been occurring in Riverside, Orange and Los Angeles counties the last two months.
“The investigation of the shootings has been a priority for the Southern, Inland, and Border Divisions of the CHP,” said Border Division Chief Omar Watson.
“I commend the diligent efforts of our investigators who continue to dedicate countless hours to locate the person, or persons, believed responsible for these senseless shootings that have been occurring on Southern California’s freeways the past couple of months,” said Commissioner Amanda Ray. “Thanks to their hard work and the public’s assistance, we were able to arrest a suspect in this case. The CHP takes incidents of highway violence very seriously and actively investigates each one. As demonstrated in this case, law enforcement cannot work alone, the public’s assistance is essential. Anyone who witnesses this type of behavior or finds themselves in a life-threatening situation, is encouraged to call 9-1-1. It is our goal that the public feel safe when traveling California’s roadways.”
No one has been injured in the spate of window-shattering attacks on the freeways in Riverside, Orange and Los Angeles counties.
On Tuesday, three incidents were reported, including an 8 a.m. shooting on the westbound Riverside (91) Freeway that blew out the driver's window.
Also on Tuesday, a vehicle was damaged about 6 a.m. on the southbound Costa Mesa (55) north of Fourth Street in Santa Ana and another shooting occurred about 7 a.m. on the Santa Ana (5) Freeway in Irvine, said CHP Officer John DeMatteo. In the latter incident, the motorist did not call it in until about an hour later, so it's unclear where exactly it happened, he said.
CHP investigators have implored victims to call authorities right away because it can help locate where and when these cases are happening, using clues found by checking Caltrans cameras along the freeways. The CHP has boosted patrols on local freeways and may be a short distance away and have a better chance of capturing a potential suspect if the call is made right away.
In the past month — mainly in Riverside, Orange and Los Angeles counties — the CHP estimates there have been about 100 incidents of cars being damaged by BB or pellet gun fire. It is unclear how many perpetrators there are, whether some are copycats, and what types of cars they're driving, though white sedans were spotted in attacks earlier this month in Corona.
A CHP officer's cruiser recently sustained a damaged window on the eastbound 91 at the 241 Tollway in the Anaheim Hills that could possibly be part of the crime spree.
"An officer was finishing up an enforcement stop and completing notes on the citation when he heard a noise and the back window was shattered. There were big rigs going by at the same time," so it might have been a rock that caused the damage, CHP Officer Florentino Olivera said earlier. "We're not sure what shattered the window."