Riverside County deputies pursued a possibly armed driver through the Inland Empire on Wednesday afternoon, ending in a standoff at a busy Jurupa Valley intersection after the suspect stopped his vehicle and refused to get out.
The chase began near Temecula for a traffic code violation. During the pursuit, the suspect called 911 and told the dispatcher he was armed, though deputies had not confirmed whether that was true.
The driver stopped at Bellegrave Avenue and Etiwanda in Jurupa Valley, where dozens of Riverside and San Bernardino County deputies were seen with their firearms drawn. More than a dozen patrol cars lined up behind them as authorities worked to negotiate a peaceful resolution.
The scene showed how quickly a routine traffic stop can escalate when a driver claims to be armed and then halts in a crowded intersection. With deputies from two counties on scene and the claim still unverified, the immediate focus remained on getting the suspect out of the vehicle without further incident.
