Murder suspect arrested after streaming police chase on Facebook Live
A Moreno Valley man wanted by police in connection with a double homicide in Nevada and a shooting in Southern California was arrested Wednesday after a chase and shootout with deputies that he livestreamed on Facebook.
San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies arrived at the scene of a shooting at a home in the 7400 block of Elk Trail in Yucca Valley about 2:15 a.m. Wednesday. A 43-year-old man had been shot and was taken to a hospital. His condition was unknown Thursday morning.
Witnesses told deputies that a man, later identified as Roger Tindell, 36, and a woman left the home in a silver BMW.
Deputies spotted the BMW nearby and turned on their lights to signal Tindell to pull over. Instead, he led them on a chase through Yucca Valley and Morongo, authorities said.
At one point during the livestream of the pursuit, Tindell tells the pregnant woman sitting beside him in the car to cover her ears, as he leans out the window and fires several shots toward deputies.
Tindell shifts from using profanity to describe the woman, whom he referred to as his “hostage,” and threatening to shoot her to eventually calling her “babe” and saying he loves her in the video.
“Now I have to raise our son alone, thank you,” she tells him.
Another video posted to Tindell’s Facebook late Tuesday shows him getting dressed to leave his house. He smokes a cigarette, chugs a can of iced tea, places a black bandanna over his face and secures a handgun in the waistband of his pants. He also points the barrel of the gun at the camera.
Authorities said the pursuit ended when Tindell collided with a patrol car and opened fire at deputies. He was wounded in the gunfight and was taken to a hospital. The female passenger was not injured, but was taken to a hospital as a precaution. Tindell is expected to survive his injuries.
During their investigation, detectives discovered that Tindell was wanted by the FBI in connection with a double homicide in Henderson, Nev. In that case, a man and a woman who had suffered head injuries were found dead inside a home last Friday, according to Henderson police.
It is not clear how authorities connected Tindell to the Nevada case.
Twitter: @Hannahnfry
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