Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Deputies Critically Injure Man
A 25-year-old man was in critical condition Thursday after being shot in the torso by sheriff’s deputies in Canyon Country after he drove a truck toward them.
Jason Eric Schmaus will be charged with assaulting peace officers with a deadly weapon and auto theft, Deputy Gabe Ramirez said.
The deputies came upon the truck parked on the 18000 block of Jake’s Way about 3:30 a.m., with its lights flashing and engine running but no one inside, Ramirez said. The deputies saw that the ignition had been jammed, Ramirez said, and they returned to their car thinking they had found a stolen vehicle.
At that time, Schmaus sneaked into the truck and drove off, Ramirez said. The deputies pursued him into a wash, and the truck got stuck in mud under a bridge, Ramirez said.
The deputies got out of their car and ordered Schmaus out of the truck at gunpoint, but he revved the truck and sped at them, Ramirez said. The deputies opened fire, Ramirez said. Schmaus was taken to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia.
Deputies determined that the truck had been used in several Los Angeles robberies, Ramirez said.
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