Drivers’ Dispute Spawns Shooting, Chase, Fisticuffs

A dispute that began when one driver cut off another escalated into a shooting, a chase through the streets of Huntington Beach and finally a fistfight, police said.

The incident began shortly before 11 p.m. Monday at Edinger Avenue and Golden West Street, when, according to police, Tony Valcarcel, 50, of Huntington Beach began following Michael Sliwoski, 31, also of Huntington Beach, after one of the men pulled his car in front of the other. It was not known who cut off whom.

At Main Street and Ellis Avenue, Sliwoski got out of his car and began breaking Valcarcel’s windows, police said. Valcarcel then shot Sliwoski in the stomach with a .38-caliber pistol, police said.

Began Fighting After Shooting

Valcarcel fled, and Sliwoski chased him and rammed into his car in the 19000 block of Delaware Street, police said. There, the two began fighting, according to officers called to the scene.

Sliwoski, who was treated at Fountain Valley Community Hospital and released, was booked on suspicion of aggravated assault and was released on his own recognizance. Valcarcel, treated for cuts and bruises at Pacific Hospital, was booked on suspicion of attempted murder and held in Huntington Beach City Jail on $250,000 bail.