By Loretta Kalb
lkalb@sacbee.com
Authorities say they have booked into jail two Sacramento gang members suspected of a drive-by shooting, firing a semi-automatic rifle at a CHP officer and injuring a 4-year-old child in a nearby vehicle.
They face multiple felony charges, including attempted murder, according to sheriff's spokesman, Sgt. Tim Curran.
The suspects fired at the California Highway Patrol officers on Highway 99 during a pursuit early today, Curran said. The child, a passenger in a minivan on the highway near Florin Road, had a minor injury from flying debris caused by a bullet, the Sheriff's Department said.
Paramedics treated the child at the scene after the 1:30 a.m. episode. The child was not hospitalized.
The case began a short time earlier when Sacramento County deputies responded to a report of a drive-by shooting at an apartment complex in the 6600 block of Sunnyslope Drive in south Sacramento.
No one at the complex was hit by gunfire.
A CHP officer also responded to the call and saw a vehicle matching the description of the car involved in the drive-by shooting. When the officer tried to stop the vehicle, the driver pulled into a mobile home park in the 7400 block of Stockton Boulevard, police said.
Sheriff's officials said the driver of the car refused to stop and the passenger fired what appeared to be a semi-automatic rifle at the CHP officer.
The suspects then left the mobile home park and drove onto Highway 99, with the CHP officer in pursuit.
During the chase, the officer was fired at again, missing the pursuer but hitting the minivan carrying the child.
A short time later, officers from the Sacramento Police Department saw the vehicle in the parking lot of a motel on Massie Court. They also found 23-year-old Pedro Pantoja of Sacramento, who was armed with a handgun, authorities said. A semi-automatic rifle was found inside the vehicle.
Several other people were detained from a room at the motel. One suspect, Jesus Montano, 26, of Elk Grove, was identified as the driver, according to the sheriff's department.
Both men were arrested.
Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Tim Curran described the men as validated gang members. They were being booked today in the Sacramento County main jail on multiple felony charges, including attempted murder.
Call The Bee's Loretta Kalb, (916) 321-1073.
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