Standoff Ends as Driver Is Shot

One of the state’s longest freeway chase-standoffs in recent years ended early Thursday morning when a distraught driver was shot twice by SWAT team members in an assault operation assisted by a pair of remote control robots.

The nearly 12-hour ordeal snarled traffic on the San Bernardino Freeway for hours and unfolded under the intense gaze of helicopter news cameras as the incident dominated coverage for several local TV stations.

Though several media helicopters tracked the drama throughout the late afternoon and early evening, only a few news crews remained for the shooting that left the driver, a robbery suspect, with head and upper body wounds.

The driver, security guard Santiago Gutierrez, 39, had led police on a high-speed, 4 1/2-hour pursuit before barricading himself in his van on the eastbound San Bernardino Freeway in Baldwin Park.

After negotiations failed, police sent camera-equipped robots to the van, one apparently to scout the area, the other to deliver a cellular phone. After Gutierrez pushed one of the robots and pointed his gun at police, SWAT members stormed the vehicle.

Gutierrez was taken to a local hospital, which authorities wouldn’t identify, and was in stable condition. Gutierrez’s family members told authorities that he had been depressed after a series of personal setbacks. He faces several charges stemming from the incident, including attempted murder and robbery counts.

“He was despondent. He was going through a divorce and he had just lost his house,” CHP spokeswoman Wendy Moore said.

The chase and standoff transfixed Southern California television viewers. According to overnight Nielsen ratings, nearly 1 million households were watching the standoff on KCAL-TV Channel 9.

Some television critics and viewers have criticized live coverage of such events. But news directors defended their decisions, saying the coverage--which KCAL said resulted in its highest rating ever for a news show--is an important public service.

“It’s not just a spectator phenomenon,” said DaVida Plummer, KCAL’s assistant news director. “It’s a public safety issue and people are impacted by it . . . especially when you consider how many hours people who live in the Southland spend on the freeways.”

The pursuit began about 3:15 p.m. in Baldwin Park when Gutierrez forced a customer at a Mobil service station to pay for a $48 fill-up for his van. After firing his gun in the air and pointing it at terrified customers, he sped off onto the freeway, where CHP followed in pursuit.

Over the next few hours, police and CHP chased Gutierrez through several suburban cities and along the San Bernardino, San Gabriel River and Foothill freeways, hitting speeds of up to 90 mph. Gutierrez fired shots in the air several times during the pursuit and at one point, he pointed the gun at a motorist stopped in front of him.

The van stopped at about 7:50 p.m. on the San Bernardino Freeway between Frazier Street and Baldwin Park Boulevard after apparently running out of gas. Police quickly blocked off the freeway in both directions and formed a phalanx behind the van.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department SWAT team members tried to get Gutierrez to give himself up peacefully over the next few hours, but the gunman refused. He appeared to taunt them by making obscene gestures. And he fired his semiautomatic weapon at least once through his front windshield, though it was unclear at whom he was aiming.

Finally, the SWAT team decided to use the robots. They positioned one by the driver’s door to prevent Gutierrez from bolting from the van. The other, which held a cellular telephone, was sent to the passenger side to block that door.

Gutierrez eventually pushed over one of the robots, leading SWAT team members to fire tear gas inside the vehicle.

Gutierrez was shot when he leaned out of the van and pointed his weapon at police, authorities said.

CHP officials said the chase-standoff was among the longest in recent years.

In 1999, the most recent year for which figures are available, only four chases statewide lasted more than three hours.

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Times staff photographer Lawrence K. Ho contributed to this story.