Palmdale deputies recognized

PALMDALE – The City Council at Wednesday’s meeting provided special recognition to members of the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station for protecting the community by apprehending a violent and unrelenting carjacker on Sept. 9.

Palmdale Sheriff Capt. Don Ford praised the local law enforcement professionals as some of the “finest policemen in the world” who helped end a chaotic and life-threatening pursuit on the streets of Palmdale.

“Shortly after the carjacking occurred at gunpoint, these deputies spotted the suspect and chased him through the city,” Capt. Ford told the public. “After a couple of minutes, this gentleman decided he would commit a drive-by shooting. So with deputy sheriffs following him, he drove up to a house here in Palmdale and fired several rounds into the house. He continued on the pursuit as the deputies continued to chase him, and he made a second round back, deciding once again to shoot at the same house.”

Capt. Ford said the suspect in the stolen 2012 Chevy Camaro showed “no mercy and no fear of the law” as he led deputies on the chase.

“Because he had already shot twice at this house, they were not going to give him a third try at that,” he said, bringing the public’s attention to a video presentation taken of the incident from a deputy’s dashcam.

The video (some highlights of the incident featured here) showed how the suspect, though temporarily trapped by patrol units near 20th Street East and Palmdale Boulevard, was not about to yield to the officers.

“Our deputies temporarily stopped the car and then the car tried to take off again,” Capt. Ford said. “Once again, the deputies decided, ‘Not in our neighborhood – we’re not going to allow this to happen,’ and two of our cars plowed into him.”

Capt. Ford recognized Sheriff’s Deputy Donald Chavez with taking a “real personal risk” to end the life-threatening pursuit by ramming his patrol car into the suspect’s vehicle and disabling it.

“And despite the fact that our deputies knew he was armed – that he shot twice at somebody’s house, and that the gun was still in the car – all of these deputies executed extreme restraint when this guy would not come out of the vehicle,” he said.

But the shirtless suspect finally did exit the vehicle after deputies fired a couple of less lethal “stun-bag” rounds at the Camaro, knocking out the car’s side window.

“These deputies continued to exercise patience,” Capt. Ford said. “They eventually got him to come out, and took him into custody with no use of force.”

Fifteen members of the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station were present at Wednesday’s meeting to receive certificates of recognition from city officials as Capt. Ford proudly told them, “You all knew your roles, and you did exactly what you were supposed to do – just waiting it out. And you did what you had to do to keep the people of Palmdale safe.”

The following officers from the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station were listed on the City Council’s recognition list: Deputies Donald Chavez, Scott Leaf, David Ibanez, Corey Reddy, Desiree Sanchez, Michael Suarez, Dale Lovvik, Steve Quiroz, David Roach, Oleg Polissky, Erich Marbach, Brett Nolin, Matthew Rickards, Ivan Bresciani, Cody Larocco, Scott Sorrow, Sheila Haywood, Justin Auldridge, Sergeant Eric Eitner, Lieutenant Frank Quichocho, and Detectives Nelson Rio, Anthony Delia and Layne Arnold.

The suspect, Jose Felix Palacios, pleaded no contest to one count of attempted murder on Oct. 2, according to Ricardo Santiago of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.  Palacios was immediately sentenced to 29 years in state prison, Santiago said.

Previous related story: Video: Carjack suspect arrested after wild police chase

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About the author

Jim Winburn is a Los Angeles area news writer, sharing samples of his work at JimmyNewser.com.

 

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