2 Deputies Shot in Riverside County Gun Battle

Two sheriff’s deputies were shot early Tuesday when a routine search for a juvenile felony suspect turned into a running gun battle through a quiet neighborhood park.

The alleged gunman, identified by authorities as Gilbert Raymond Garcia, 32, was found about six hours later--sleeping--in an abandoned apartment about four blocks away, capping a house-to-house dragnet that unnerved neighbors with the sight of shotgun-toting lawmen and police dogs.

Deputies Jeffrey Anderson, 39, and Theo Nash, 37, were struck beneath their bulletproof vests--Anderson in the hip, Nash in the lower back--and were recovering after surgery, said Mark Lohman, spokesman for the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

The incident occurred after three deputies went to a home here to serve a felony arrest warrant on a 16-year-old boy. Two deputies remained outside and were questioning half a dozen occupants of the house, including Garcia, when Garcia suddenly bolted, Lohman said.

As the two deputies chased him down the street and toward a small park, Garcia allegedly turned and fired a .22-caliber handgun, striking each deputy. One of the deputies fired back.

Neighbors said they heard more than a dozen shots.

Garcia was found asleep later in a nearby apartment and the handgun was recovered in a nearby backyard, Lohman said. Garcia was on parole for forgery and receiving stolen property, he said.

The 16-year-old, who was arrested last week for burglary, was at the house and was arrested, Lohman said.