ORANGE COVE – A man who was interrupted during a suspected theft and then rammed a deputy sheriff’s vehicle in an attempt to escape was arrested on Tuesday.
Two deputies from the Tulare County Sheriff’s Orosi Substation responded to a gas theft in progress in Orange Cove just after 10 p.m. on Monday. Upon arrival, the deputies found the man – now identified as Rodney Harp, 42, of Dinuba – in the 45400 block of Road 128 “during the commission of the crime,” according to the sheriff’s department.
The deputies tried to detain Harp, but he jumped into his vehicle and drove it toward the deputy.
“Deputies attempted to stop the suspect from using the vehicle as a deadly weapon by firing their department issued handguns. The suspect still managed to ram one of the stationary patrol vehicles with the deputy inside,” according to the sheriff’s department.
Harp then fled north on Road 128 toward Avenue 460 and managed to elude the pursuing deputies. The suspect’s car was later located two miles away from where the officer-involved shooting occurred.
Investigators with the Tulare County Violent Crimes Unit gleaned possible suspect information and tracked down Harp at a residence in the 1400 block of Green Street in Dinuba.
Harp was taken into custody without incident. He was booked at the Visalia Main Jail on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, evading with gross negligence, theft and resisting arrest.
None of the deputies were injured during the officer-involved shooting incident. They have been placed on administrative leave during an investigation of the incident, according to standard policy.
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