Parolee Arrested After Pursuit for Pulling Gun on Officer

MCFARLAND — A 33-year-old parolee was arrested after pulling a gun on an officer and  leading police on a short pursuit.

Joseph Etcheverry

Joseph Etcheverry was arrested and will be booked into the Kern County Central Receiving Facility on charges of attempted murder of a police officer, felon in possession of a firearm, and violent felon in possession of a gun.

According to police, the incident began on Saturday, June 8, at approximately 11:30 p.m. when officers from the McFarland Police Department pulled over Etcheverry for a simple traffic violation.

During the stop, a routine records check revealed that Etcheverry was on parole for manslaughter, prompting officers to take precaution by having Etchevvery exit the vehicle.

At that point, officers said,  Etcheverry leaned forward and pulled a firearm out from underneath the driver’s seat. One officer discharged his service weapon at Etcheverry, who immediately sped away in his vehicle — a red Chevrolet pickup truck.

A pursuit began but ended quickly as officers lost contact with the vehicle shortly after it entered onto Highway 99 southbound.

A crime broadcast was then released to surrounding law enforcement agencies, and authorities soon determined the pickup Etcheverry was driving had been reported stolen from the  city of Cayucos.

A subsequent multi-agency search for the vehicle and the suspect proved successful — both were located a short time later by the California Highway Patrol at the scene of a single-vehicle collision on Highway 99, south of Highway 46.

According to a McFarland police spokesperson, arresting CHP officers also located a gun in the vehicle.

Etcheverry was taken to Kern Medical Center in Bakersfield for treatment of injuries sustained in the collision.

A McFarland police spokesperson stated that “No one other than the suspect was injured during the incident.”

Read more:

Bakersfield Now: Man who evades McFarland traffic stop, arrested later at crash scene

23ABC News: McFarland man crashes truck after officer involved shooting