CHP Officer’s Assailant Eludes Dragnet

A motorist who shot a California Highway Patrol officer eluded a law enforcement manhunt for a second day Thursday, even as hundreds of police officers throughout California were on the lookout for his red Toyota pickup.

Police agencies to the Mexican border stopped dozens of red Toyota trucks that resembled the desription of the gunman’s vehicle, which was pulled over Wednesday morning by CHP Officer Gary L. Burnett for speeding on southbound Interstate 5 in San Clemente.

The gunman fired twice at Burnett with a large-caliber weapon, hitting him in the right arm and chest. The round to the chest was stopped by Burnett’s armored vest, but the other bullet tore through the officer’s upper right arm, officials said. The suspect then drove away.

On Thursday, doctors operated a second time on Burnett’s arm. At a news conference the day before, doctors said the officer would require at least one more operation on the arm and extensive rehabilitation. One doctor said he expected Burnett to be off work for several weeks.

Thursday was Burnett’s 39th birthday, and fellow officers honored him with a birthday cake in the morning at San Clemente Hospital & Medical Center, before his afternoon surgery.

“He’s in pretty good spirits and was able to eat a little piece of cake,” saidCHP spokeswoman Joan Rivas. “Then the officers were all chased out of his room so he could rest before the surgery.”

She said that flowers and cards for Burnett continued to arrive at the CHP station in San Juan Capistrano, where Burnett is stationed.

Meanwhile, police continued their intensive search for the red pickup truck Thursday.

“We’ve stopped about four trucks just this morning. Like everyone else, our officers are on the lookout,” Anaheim Police Sgt. Joe Vargas said.

San Diego Police spokesman Bill Robinson said that police in that city have stopped “numerous trucks matching the description of the suspect’s vehicle.”

“But . . . there’s a lot of red Toyota trucks out there,” Robinson said.

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In addition to the trucks stopped by police officers, investigators were fielding numerous calls from citizens who were reporting those they know who drive red Toyota trucks.

“Citizens are calling in with information and everything is being checked out,” said Orange County Sheriff’s spokesman Jim Amormino. Sheriff’s detectives are in charge of the investigation.

Unfortunately, there were precious few clues as to the suspect’s identity, at least any that authorities were willing to talk about.

“There’s really not a lot new,” said Rivas of the CHP. “We’re still hoping to find the truck and the suspect.”

Some law enforcement officials were amazed that the gunman was able to escape so effectively. Although the suspect was southbound on Interstate 5, authorities do not know if he continued traveling in that direction, exited the freeway and escaped on surface streets or if he turned around and headed north on Interstate 5.

“It’s really unbelievable that he succeeded in getting away,” said a CHP official in San Diego, who asked not to be named. “Every police officer in Southern California down to the Mexican border was looking for this guy minutes after the call about the shooting went out. The fact that he managed to get away is very troubling.”