Officer Wounds Bank Robbery Suspect In Temecula
TEMECULA (CBSLA.com) — A police officer shot and wounded a bank robbery suspect Friday afternoon at the end of a chase that began in Murrieta, authorities said.
During the chase, the suspect allegedly aimed his vehicle at a pursing police car, hitting the driver's side door and injuring a Murrieta police detective, according to Riverside County sheriff's Deputy Armando Munoz.
Officers attempted a traffic stop and also deployed a spike strip in an effort to apprehend the driver, Munoz told City News Service.
The chase began in Murrieta after officers saw a vehicle thought to have been involved in a robbery at a First Citizens Bank branch office in the 41500 block of Ivy Street, Munoz said. It ended in Temecula, in the 43500 block of Ridge Park Drive.
When the suspect, Duane Bowen, 51, of Chula Vista, exited the vehicle, he was shot by an officer, Munoz said. Bowen was arrested and booked on charges of robbery, conspiracy, assault with a deadly weapon and felony evading. A second suspect, Thomas Ferguson, 30, of La Mesa, was booked on a charge of armed robbery.
Munoz said the Murrieta detective whose car was struck was hospitalized, but he had no details about his injuries or condition.
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