By Peter Hartlaub and Henry Lee
San Francisco Chronicle
SAN FRANCISCO — A San Francisco man was arrested Sunday on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and other felonies in connection with the shooting of a police officer and a high-speed chase that passed through four Bay Area counties.
Jeffrey Ruano, 50, of San Francisco was detained early Sunday — less than a day after San Francisco police Officer Adam Shaw was shot and wounded during a vehicle stop in the Mission District. Shaw is out of surgery and expected to recover.
The arrest happened after the chaotic shooting and manhunt Saturday. The suspect fled the Mission, and police say they later found his car in Daly City. Several streets were shut down for hours as police went door to door searching for suspects.
Later in the evening, police located and followed to the East Bay a different vehicle they believe was connected to the shooting. At 11 p.m. Saturday, California Highway Patrol officers, acting at the SFPD’s request, stopped a white Mercedes-Benz sedan along Interstate 80 in Richmond, said Officer Gordon Shyy, a San Francisco police spokesman.
120 MPH Pursuit
The vehicle failed to stop, and officers pursued the car through Contra Costa, Solano and Alameda counties. The pursuit — which reached speeds of 120 mph — finally ended at 12:30 a.m. Sunday at a gas station at McKee Road and North 33rd Street in San Jose, and three people were detained without incident or injuries, Shyy said.
CHP Officer Daniel Hill said CHP and San Jose police helicopters helped with the chase. A spike strip disabled the car, which hobbled down an off-ramp to the gas station. San Francisco police said two women in the car were detained and interviewed, and both were released pending further investigation. Shyy said only ammunition, not a gun, was found after Ruano’s arrest. But “it’s still a very active and fluid investigation.”
Police say the suspect’s car started backing up around the time that the Mission shooting started, and that the assault with a deadly weapon charge is related to the vehicle. Ruano was also booked on suspicion of being a convicted felon in possession of ammunition, driving in excess of 100 mph and evading police officers. He also had a misdemeanor warrant for his arrest pending.
The shooting occurred around 2:45 p.m. Saturday on Florida Street between 25th and 26th streets, after police received a complaint about a suspicious car on the block, Police Chief Greg Suhr said during a media briefing Saturday at San Francisco General Hospital.
Multiple Shots
Two officers in a marked police cruiser spotted the car, and one of them approached the suspect’s vehicle, Suhr said. A witness reported hearing multiple shots fired from the suspect’s car. The second officer saw the suspect’s car back up and fired multiple shots at it, Suhr said.
While police fired shots, Shyy said authorities don’t believe the injury was caused by another officer.
The officer who fired his gun found his partner suffering from a gunshot wound to his left shoulder, police said. “Ambulance right now, 1377 Florida, I’ve been hit!” the wounded officer yelled into the radio, according to a recording on Broadcastify.com, a website that provides radio feeds of police, fire and emergency service broadcasts.
Shaw, 28 and a six-year department veteran, was listed in serious but stable condition after surgery at the hospital.
“I spoke to the victim officer just after he got out of surgery,” Suhr said Sunday. “He was in good spirits.”
Copyright 2014 the San Francisco Chronicle