Man and woman arrested after standoff that shut down Interstate 15 for hours
A man and woman were arrested Saturday after they triggered an 11-hour closure of Interstate 15 north of Baker by shooting at police officers, authorities said.
Sean Winter, 34, of Nevada, and Samantha Ross-Blume, 22, of Minnesota, were taken into custody a day after they evaded capture Friday during a standoff with the California Highway Patrol on the freeway. The couple, along with a cache of six firearms, were found in an abandoned car on a ranch on Cima Road, near I-15, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
Authorities said a caller had notified them that Winter and Ross-Blume had been seen trespassing on the property.
Officers from the California Highway Patrol and members of the Sheriff’s Department’s SWAT team surrounded the ranch and began searching the property.
“As deputies in the armored rescue vehicle approached what appeared to be an unoccupied vehicle, two subjects were observed sleeping in the vehicle,” the Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.
Deputies made announcement over a loud speaker and woke up the pair. Deputies noticed Winter reaching for an object inside the vehicle, but dropped it when he saw the armored vehicle, authorities said.
Winter and Ross-Blume surrendered and were turned over to the CHP.
Police found six firearms in the vehicle, the Sheriff’s Department said.
Winter and Blume were suspected of leading CHP officers on a pursuit early Friday.
The pursuit began at 2:18 a.m. when a CHP officer tried to stop a motorist driving at excessive speeds north of Baker, said Officer Adam Carmichall, CHP spokesman in Barstow.
At least one shot, possibly from an AK-47, was fired at two CHP officers during the pursuit, authorities said.
Shortly after the chase began, the driver’s vehicle became disabled in the center divider of the highway near Halloran Summit Road, just south of Primm, Nev., he said. When the driver did not respond to officers’ commands, authorities closed the north and southbound lanes of the freeway.
After a seven-hour standoff, officers finally approached the vehicle and discovered it was empty.
The freeway remained closed for nearly four more hours as authorities searched the surrounding area for the suspects.
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