The man shot by Fresno police had eluded officers during a chase three days earlier
The man shot by Fresno police when he backed into their cars at the end of a chase Sunday had eluded officers during a chase through the city three days earlier, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday.
The man, Homar Alonso Cardenas, 30, has been charged with four counts of assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, evading arrest and assault with a deadly weapon in relation to a civilian who was on a ride-along with police when the shooting occurred, the sheriff’s office announced.
The earlier chase occurred July 20 when Fresno police responded to a traffic complaint in the 4600 block of East Belgravia Avenue. The driver, identified as Cardenas, sped away and police pursued but ended the chase when Cardenas ran stop signs and drove recklessly, the sheriff’s office said.
Just after midnight Sunday, Fresno police were called to the intersection of South Backer and East Florence avenues to check on a suspicious vehicle. The vehicle sped off and a Fresno police helicopter followed.
At Clovis and Jensen avenues, Cardenas manged to avoid a spike strip set up by officers, but crashed through the front gate of Simonian Farms about 1:30 a.m. Cardenas backed up between two patrol cars, hitting them and a third police car that had the civilian passenger on the ride-along. Officers opened fire, hitting Cardenas three times and peppering his vehicle.
No officers were seriously hurt, the sheriff’s office said. Additional information about the civilian was not available. Cardenas was taken to Community Regional Medical Center for treatment.
The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office is handling the investigation since the shooting occurred outside Fresno city limits.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the sheriff’s office at 559-600-3111 or Crime Stoppers at 559-498-7867.
Lewis Griswold: 559-441-6104, @fb_LewGriswold
This story was originally published July 27, 2017 at 7:08 PM with the headline "The man shot by Fresno police had eluded officers during a chase three days earlier."