Wanted RivCo felon who rammed police vehicles, trapped deputy under overturned vehicle, fatally shot

December 31, 2021 Trevor Montgomery

Authorities say a multi-agency search for a wanted felon that began in the unincorporated community of Woodcrest as a domestic violence investigation ended several hours later in Beaumont after a deadly officer and deputy involved shooting.

The suspect was killed in a hail of gunfire after the wanted man rammed several citizens’ and law enforcement officers’ vehicles with his full-size Dodge Ram, leaving a deputy trapped and injured underneath a vehicle that overturned down an embankment after being rammed by the fleeing man’s pickup truck.

Officials have said officers and deputies from four different local law enforcement agencies were involved in the deadly shooting.

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Deputies from the Perris Sheriff’s Station responded to a report of a domestic violence dispute in the 17000 block of Ridge Canyon Drive in Woodcrest just before 10 p.m. on Thursday evening, Dec. 30, Riverside Sheriff’s Sergeant Brandi Swan has since said of the fatal shooting and ongoing investigation.

When deputies arrived at the scene they confirmed that a domestic violence attack had occurred and that the suspect had already fled the scene.

Despite searching the area for the man, whose name has not yet been released, deputies were not immediately able to locate him.

Officers and deputies from multiple surrounding agencies converged on the area after a ramming and shooting that left one deputy trapped and injured under an overturned vehicle and left the suspect dead at the scene. OnScene TV – Riversaid/Facebook photos

Early on in their investigation deputies learned the alleged suspect had a felony warrant for assault with a deadly weapon, domestic violence, kidnapping, and vandalism. He was also wanted for a domestic violence-related restraining order violation.

As their investigation continued into the next morning, deputies learned that the suspect was possibly in the area of Interstate 10 and Beaumont Avenue in the city of Beaumont and at 1:07 a.m. a Sheriff’s helicopter aviation crew spotted the wanted man’s truck in the parking lot of a Del Taco restaurant in the 400 block of E. 4th Street.

Once located, deputies from the Hemet Sheriff’s Station, along with officers from the Beaumont and Banning police departments and California Highway Patrol began to converge on the area.

“Several officers arrived on scene and located the suspect inside his vehicle, at which time the suspect attempted to flee the area by ramming a vehicle occupied by a private citizen and multiple police cars,” Swan explained; adding, “While the ramming occurred, an officer became trapped underneath a vehicle and couldn’t escape.”

“An officer and deputy involved shooting occurred at that time,” she explained.

Officials at the scene put out an emergency broadcast reporting the shooting and that a deputy remained trapped underneath the overturned vehicle, according to Swan, who went on to say, “Surrounding agencies, along with our Special Enforcement Bureau, arrived on scene with an armored rescue vehicle, which was used to safely extract the injured officer.”

Photos captured from near the scene showed that the truck ended up partway down a steep embankment to the east side of the fast-food restaurant.

Once pulled from underneath the overturned vehicle, the officer was transported by ground ambulance to a local hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. The deputy’s current condition was not immediately available.

After making numerous attempts to have the suspect exit his Dodge Ram, deputies used the armored rescue vehicle as cover to safely approach the man’s truck, at which time they found he had already succumbed to his injuries and passed away.

The suspect’s bullet-riddled Dodge Ram can be seen partway down an embankment after the wanted felon rammed several citizens’ and law enforcement officers’ vehicles, leaving a deputy trapped underneath the man’s pickup truck. OnScene TV – Riversaid/Facebook photos

All officers and deputies from each of the four agencies that responded to the initial contact with the suspect and were directly involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave per their department policies, according to Swan, who said their names will not be released at this time.

No other deputies, officers or citizens were injured during the deadly incident and there are no outstanding suspects or threat to the public, according to Swan.

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An investigator from the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office will lead this investigation, aided by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Force Investigations Detail.

Their investigation is active and ongoing.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact Riverside County District Attorney Investigator Felipe Munoz at (951) 922-7624 or Riverside County Sheriff’s Investigator Dan Moody at (951) 955-2777. Callers can refer to incident file D213650002 can remain anonymous.

This is a developing story that will be updated as new information becomes available.

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Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 50, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).

Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.