Suspect Is ID’d in CHP Shooting

Police were searching Saturday for a Mira Loma man who allegedly shot and wounded a California Highway Patrol officer during a traffic stop Friday on Interstate 15 in Ontario.

Jaime Zavala Garcia, 37, is suspected of shooting the officer in the leg and pelvic area while he was writing a speeding ticket on the freeway shoulder, said a spokesman for the Ontario Police Department, which is handling the investigation.

The unidentified 27-year-old officer was released from a hospital Saturday after undergoing minor surgery Friday, police said.

Stationed at the CHP’s Rancho Cucamonga office, the officer is a five-year veteran who is married and has children.

Garcia allegedly fired as many as eight rounds from a handgun before fleeing in his car. Police said investigators were able to identify Garcia after they found the car Saturday morning at a motel in Riverside County.

Police said Saturday evening that Garcia was last seen in Hesperia. He had switched vehicles, authorities said, and was believed to be traveling with his brother, Antonio, 43. The pair were driving a gray 2005 Dodge Ram Quad Cab short-bed pickup, with license plate 7X61858, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Ontario police at (909) 986-6711 or (909) 395-2749.

Associated Press contributed to this report.