Man arrested after Merced police vehicle rammed twice, officers say
A 31-year-old Merced man was arrested Thursday after authorities say he rammed his vehicle into a Merced police detective’s car.
Rosalio Leal was taken into custody at gunpoint just after 9 a.m. outside a home in the 200 block of South R Street in Merced, Capt. Tom Trindad said in a news release.
Detectives Rey Alvarez and Jeff Horn, the occupants of the police vehicle, weren’t hurt in the incident, Trindad said.
Officers went to search the home after learning that Leal was believed to have a firearm in the house. Police said he’s legally prohibited from having firearms. Inside the home, Trindad said, investigators later found multiple marijuana plants, but the exact size of the grow wasn’t clear.
Officers had pulled into the driveway of Leal’s home to serve a search warrant as he was leaving, police said.
“The detectives pulled in behind Leal and the suspect put his car in reverse hitting the front of the detectives’ car,” police said in the statement. “Leal pulled forward and back again, hitting the detectives’ car one more time.”
The officers drew their firearms and Leal was arrested without further incident, police said.
He was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, police said.
Police are asking anyone with information regarding this incident to contact Alvarez at (209) 388-7705, or the Merced Police Department Tipster Line at (209) 385-4725. The public can send information via anonymous text messages to the Police Department by dialing “TIP411” (847411) and including the word “ComVIP” as the “keyword” in the message.
This story was originally published February 12, 2015 at 11:28 AM with the headline "Man arrested after Merced police vehicle rammed twice, officers say."