Drug deal ends with fatal car attack
SAN BERNARDINO — Police spent Thanksgiving chasing down two murder suspects for intentionally striking a pedestrian with a vehicle.
Police said a drug deal led to the fatal collision on Baseline Street and Mountain View Avenue. Witnesses told police they saw a verbal argument ensue a Dodge Magnum struck Paul Hernandez, 23, and fled the scene, said Sgt. Gary Robertson.
Robertson said Jose Alfredo Curiel and Timothy Martin Sparks, both 21, were found four hours after the initial 3:10 a.m. call to police. Authorities traced the suspects to the 2600 block of North G Street.
It’s an area that “is well known for prostitution, gang and drug activity,” said Lt. David Harp. “That area keeps us pretty busy.”
More officers showed up to locate the suspects, interviewing several witnesses at a nearby restaurant.
“There were at least 10 to 15 people milling around the area,” said Robertson.
The two suspects briefly led officers on a chase that ended in the 2600 block of North G Street, police said. Eventually, Curiel, who is known to officers in both San Bernardino and Ontario, and Sparks, who has been arrested on domestic disturbances and drugs, were arrested on suspicion of murder.
