Joshua Tree man arrested on suspicion of shooting gun after two-county chase

A 20-year-old man was arrested Saturday afternoon near Joshua Tree National Park after an 11-hour search that began when he allegedly got out of his vehicle after a police chase, fired a gun and fled the scene.

No law enforcement officers were injured, according to a statement from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, which assisted personnel from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

Jonathan Rodriguez was arrested without incident, the statement said, around 2:22 p.m. Saturday at a home on Pueblo Trail in the small community of Joshua Tree, adjacent to the national park.

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He had not yet been booked into the city's Morongo Basin Jail as of Saturday night, San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Mara Rodriguez said by email, adding that information about the suspect's vehicle and the weapon he allegedly used were not available.

The arrest capped a manhunt that began when Riverside County Sheriff's Department deputies attempted to stop a vehicle near Camino Idilio and Palm Drive in Desert Hot Springs for “a traffic violation,” according to a department statement.

Rodriguez reportedly failed to stop, so deputies pursued him on I-10 westbound from Date Palm on Highway 62, then to Yucca Trail and Airway Avenue, according to a statement from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

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San Bernardino County Sheriff's personnel took over the pursuit, and the chase ended on the 60800 block of Mountain View Trail, a scenic stretch of road just outside the northwest border of Joshua Tree National Park. Rodriguez reportedly exited his vehicle, “fired multiple shots from a firearm,” and then fled the scene, according to the San Bernardino County statement.

The investigation into the incident is ongoing, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department. Authorities asked anyone with relevant information to call the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Dispatch at (909) 387-8313 or provide information anonymously at (800) 782-7463 or www.wetip.com.

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This article was originally published in the Los Angeles Times.