A pair of gang members — one of whom was reportedly out on the streets because of Jerry Brown’s sentencing reform to allow “non-violent” offenders to be released early from state prison to county supervision — were arrested in the early morning hours last Friday.
The two allegedly went on a violent crime spree in Murrieta and Temecula that included allegedly stealing two cars, reckless driving and firing multiple shots at pursuing police officers.
According to Sun News and Review, Fernando Alonso and Jose Perez Rodriguez have been booked on a long list of charges:
Since their initial booking, both Alonso and Rodriguez have also been booked by Murrieta PD detectives for the added booking charge of PC 664/187 – Attempted Murder of a Peace Officer, which carries a $1,000,000 bail.
It all reportedly started at approximately 2:35 am on Friday, May 5th, according to a Valley News report, when a Murrieta police officer attempted a traffic stop on a vehicle as it entered the Las Brisas Apartment complex.
“As the officer was approaching the vehicle on foot, the driver of the vehicle sped off at a high rate of speed with the vehicle’s headlights off,” Murrieta Police Lieutenant Ron Driscoll stated in a written press release reported by multiple news sources.
The driver, later identified as Alonso, led police on a high-speed chase through Murrieta, Temecula and outlying areas, endangering the public and showing no regard for the safety of the pursuing officers. In fact, according to Driscoll, Alonso, the driver of the vehicle leaned out of the speeding vehicle “and fired multiple gunshots at the officers, striking one of the patrol vehicles.”
Murrieta PD sought help from Riverside County Sheriffs, who dispatched a K-9 unit along with a helicopter known as “Star 9.”
It took about 3 hours of searching in the air and on foot to locate one of the subjects hiding in the backyard of a residence, near some trash cans. Several officers were injured in the ensuing struggle to arrest Alonso, according to news reports, but finally the K-9 unit was deployed, and he was subdued, handcuffed and taken away.
The other suspect, Rodriguez, was arrested a short time later near a second stolen vehicle. Stolen property from multiple vehicle break-ins all over the city of Temecula were allegedly recovered.
“Rodriguez is a product of Assembly Bill 109, which is the California State Realignment Act that was signed into law in 2011,” Driscoll explained in a Press Release obtained by Valley News. “AB 109 allows for thousands of [supposedly] less serious felony offenders to remain out of custody on supervision (county probation instead of state parole), whereas they would have previously been eligible for state prison.”
Both suspects are now being charged with attempted murder of a peace officer, and likely will not be able to make their $1 million dollar bail.
Repeated calls to Gov. Jerry Brown for comment by Breitbart News went unanswered.
Tim Donnelly is a former California State Assemblyman and author who is doing a book tour for his new book: Patriot Not Politician: Win or Go Homeless. He ran for governor in 2014.
FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/tim.donnelly.12/
Twitter: @PatriotNotPol