Updated at 6:45 p.m., February 7: The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed the identity of the suspect as Antonio Garza, and has corrected their press release.
The suspected arsonist who led law enforcement officers on a pursuit that ended with a use of lethal force on the 10 freeway has been identified. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office this afternoon (February 7) issued a press release correcting the identity of the deceased suspect in the high-profile pursuit as Antonio Garza, a 44 year-old resident of Joshua Tree. The suspect is alleged by Sheriff’s Deputies to have started a box trailer fire near Indio Ave and Canterbury St in Yucca Valley on Sunday (February 5), before fleeing the scene and leading San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Deputies on a chase west on Highway 62, through Morongo Valley, and ending when he drove off the side of the westbound 10 freeway near Whitewater Cutoff. The details of the Deputy involved shooting, which occurred in Riverside County and are being investigated by the Riverside County Sheriff’s office, have not been released.
