A driver who told a 911 dispatcher he was armed led Riverside County deputies on a chase Wednesday afternoon that ended in a crash at a busy Jurupa Valley intersection, where he briefly barricaded himself in a crumpled white sedan as a SWAT vehicle and a long line of patrol cars stacked up near the local high school.
The pursuit started after deputies pulled the car over near Temecula for a traffic-code violation, then watched the driver speed off again around 3:20 p.m., according to CBS Los Angeles. Aerial footage later showed a white Cadillac CT5 with heavy front-end damage after deputies used a Grappler device. The car hit a brick wall on Bellegrave Avenue just outside a home, and the driver refused to get out at the intersection of Bellegrave and Etiwanda.
How Deputies Used the Grappler
The Grappler is a bumper-mounted net that shoots out to wrap a tether around a fleeing vehicle's rear axle, dragging the car to a stop and giving deputies another option besides a PIT maneuver. As began equipping K-9 cruisers after a 2025 pilot explains, Riverside County rolled the device out to certain patrol units in an effort to shut down pursuits with less risk to everyone on the road.
Aerial Footage and the Standoff
With SkyCal overhead, video appeared to show the driver holding an object in his left hand while sitting in the front seat, and he told a 911 dispatcher he was armed, CBS Los Angeles reports. Deputies said the Grappler deployment seemed to cause the driver to lose control before the crash. A deputy vehicle briefly lost control after the attempt but did not crash as officers moved in and set up a perimeter around the scene.
Investigation Ongoing
The crash and standoff played out at the intersection of Bellegrave and Etiwanda, just across from Jurupa Valley High School at 10551 Bellegrave Ave. Authorities have not released the driver's name or any additional details as the Riverside County Sheriff's Office continues its investigation.
