The suspected arsonist who led law enforcement officers on a pursuit that ended with a use of lethal force has been identified as Antonio Garza, a 44 year-old resident of Joshua Tree.
A discrepancy between two of the agencies investigating the incident, which crossed several law enforcement jurisdictions, led to an earlier misidentification of the suspect as Antonio Guzman of Yucca Valley. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office corrected the error in their press release.
Garza is alleged by San Bernardino County 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 in a car and leading Deputies on a chase westbound on Highway 62, through Morongo Valley, through Desert Hot Springs, and ending when he drove off the side of the westbound 10 freeway near the Whitewater Cutoff, north of Palm Springs.
The details of the Deputy-involved shooting, which occurred in Riverside County, are being investigated by the Riverside County Sheriff’s office and have not been released.
This is an ongoing story, and Z1077 will provide updates as they become available.
