Ran I-5 Checkpoint, Guard Station : Hit-Run Suspect Slain on Marine Base

A suspect in a hit-and-run accident was shot and killed in a brushy area on Camp Pendleton by a Border Patrol agent Tuesday night after a high-speed chase on Interstate 5 and a three-hour search on Camp Pendleton.

According to Gene Smithburg, an assistant chief Border Patrol agent, the incident began when a man sped from the San Onofre checkpoint and failed to obey an agent signaling him to stop.

Smithburg said the California Highway Patrol had alerted border agents at the checkpoint around 10:30 p.m. about a suspected drunken driver whose car windows were badly damaged.

The car the man was driving had been stolen in Vista, and it appears to be “somewhat of a motive” for fleeing, FBI Agent Gary Laturno said.

The case is being investigated by the FBI. The name of the Border Patrol agent involved in the shooting has not been released, and the victim had not been identified by late Wednesday.

CHP Officer Jerry Bohrer said the agency had received a call from an off-duty officer who had noticed a driver who looked as if he had been involved in a hit-and-run accident and might be drunk. Bohrer said it is normal for the CHP to call the Border Patrol whenever a suspect is headed for the checkpoint. But he said the CHP’s involvement in this case didn’t go beyond the radio alert.

After driving through the checkpoint, the man’s car, which agents said reached speeds of 100 m.p.h., exited on Basilone Road on the Marine base and went past a guard station.

The Border Patrol followed for six miles until the driver got out of the car and headed toward the heavy brush in the area, Smithburg said.

After hours of searching by the Border Patrol and Marines, an agent encountered the man holding a knife, Smithburg said. The man lunged at the agent and went back into the bushes, Smithburg said.

Later, another agent found the man brandishing a knife, Smithburg said. The agent fell as the man lunged at him, “and he had to fire to protect himself,” shooting the man in the chest, the spokesman said.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene in the northern part of the base by a doctor with a Life Flight helicopter unit.