Police Nab Man Who Shot at Riverside Police in Road Rage Incident

RIVERSIDE – Two days after a Fontana man shot at police and led them on a massive manhunt near downtown on Saturday night, a description of events that led to his arrest was released on Monday.

Luis Fernando Diaz

Police believe that Luis Fernando Diaz, 35, tried to run a vehicle off the road in the Jurupa Valley area near Pacific Ave. and Mission Blvd. at around 8 p.m. on Saturday.
Another driver saw Diaz’s vehicle heading east on Mission Blvd. into Riverside. Police, who called it a “road rage” incident, began a pursuit of Diaz into the main section of Riverside.

When sheriff’s deputies located the car parked near Mission Blvd. and Brockton Ave., the driver fled on foot. When police approached the man a block away, near Cedar St., Diaz reportedly fired at officers.
Riverside County Sheriff’s spokesman Robert Martinez said Diaz fired three shots at deputies during the pursuit. Eventually police lost sight of the suspect.
In a search that lasted nearly three hours, police surrounded the neighborhood near downtown, sectioning off a three block area where Diaz was thought to be hiding. The area included a large number of holiday visitors during a peak time of day.
At 10:45 p.m. Riverside police and a sheriff’s K9 unit acted on a tip that Diaz might be hiding in an abandoned home at 4278 Mission Inn Drive, near the historic Fox Theater.
Diaz was ordered to come out several times.  When he did not comply, a police dog chased Diaz into a crawl space inside the abandoned home, where he was apprehended.
Martinez said Diaz, who was the only one injured during the incident, was treated for several dog bites.
Diaz, charged on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and attempted murder of a police officer, was taken to the Robert Presley Detention Center and held on $1 million bail.

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