Sunnyvale – A suspected car thief led officers on a high speed chase that ended with the suspect being shot while trying to evade police. According to Captain Jeffrey Hunter of the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety, “At approximately 6:35 p.m. on February 9, Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety (DPS) officers responded to an officer involved shooting near the intersection of El Camino Real and Wolfe Rd.”
Santa Clara police in unmarked and marked patrol units had attempted to stop a white Mercedes Benz sedan in Santa Clara, however the suspect continued to evade pursuing officers.
The suspect driver, 30-year-old Danny Rodriguez-Garcia of Oakland, was thought to have been involved in numerous auto burglaries throughout the City of Santa Clara when police recognized the vehicle the suspect was driving had been stolen. Santa Clara Police tried to pull him over but he refused to obey police commands. During the chase the suspect tried to injure officers in his attempt to escape by driving directly at them.
Hunter said, “Officer Peter Stephens, a five-year veteran of the Santa Clara Police Department, feared for his life and fired several rounds at the Mercedes Benz.” After the shooting, the driver continued on, and evaded capture.
After authorities alerted several Bay Area hospitals, a call was placed to DPS reporting Rodriguez-Garcia was being treated at the San Francisco General Hospital for his gunshot wounds. Once he was treated for non-life threatening injuries related to the shooting, Rodriguez-Garcia was released into the custody of Sunnyvale DPS. He was booked into Santa Clara County Main Jail for assault with a deadly weapon on an officer.
