A traffic stop near Apple Valley Road and Ottawa Road turned into a pursuit this past weekend involving two motorcyclists — one apprehended near Wild Wash Road, the other arrested a day later at his Hesperia residence.
Deputies attempted a traffic-enforcement stop on a motorcycle near Apple Valley Road and Ottawa Road late Saturday night. Instead of pulling over, the two riders — identified as 32-year-old Hesperia resident Dominic Nieto and 34-year-old Apple Valley resident Brian Snyder — failed to yield and took off, committing numerous vehicle-code violations as they fled.
Apple Valley’s law-enforcement role is handled through the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department: the town has contracted with the department for police services since it incorporated in 1988. The department’s Apple Valley station provides those services locally, placing the pursuit within the sheriff’s contracted policing operation rather than a separate town police department.
The Pursuit
Deputies pursued both motorcyclists.
Snyder was apprehended near Wild Wash Road.
Pursuits carry risks beyond the people being chased: in 2023, California agencies reported 13,627 pursuits, and 2,593 — 19% — ended in a crash, including 915 injury crashes and 32 fatal crashes. State law also requires agencies to maintain pursuit policies, train officers, and document pursuits for reporting to the California Highway Patrol. Those statewide figures provide context, but do not establish whether anyone was injured in this Apple Valley incident. The CHP’s statewide pursuit report records the totals and describes the reporting requirements.
A Second Arrest, A Day Later
Nieto was arrested at his Hesperia residence the following day, October 4, after being identified as a suspect in the underlying investigation.
The pursuit was tied to a felony vandalism case.
California’s vandalism law covers maliciously defacing, damaging or destroying property that belongs to someone else. When the damage is $400 or more, the offense is punishable by county-jail or state-prison time; damage below $400 generally carries county-jail penalties, with an exception for certain prior convictions. The sheriff’s account has not specified what property was allegedly damaged, the estimated loss or what conduct investigators attribute to either man. Penal Code section 594 sets those thresholds and penalties.
Tips Still Sought in Ongoing Case
San Bernardino County Sheriff's dispatch can be reached at 760-956-5001, and the Apple Valley Police Station can be contacted at 760-240-7400 for anyone with information related to the case. Anonymous tipsters may also reach out through the sheriff's department's online tip link or by texting a report to the We-Tip hotline at 844-909-3006.
