Dennis RomeroA suspect involved in a brazen shootout with cops in Bellflower last night was identified by authorities this afternoon as 39-year-old Juan Martinez.
One deputy who was struck by gunfire “is now currently out of surgery and his condition is critical but stable,” the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department said in a just-released statement. The second deputy hit was scheduled for surgery but otherwise in “fair” condition, the department stated.
Martinez was booked in lieu of $10 million bail at 8:55 a.m., according to Sheriff's inmate records.
Authorities said the suspect was behind the wheel of a vehicle flagged by a cop near a Sheriff's DUI checkpoint on Lakewood Boulevard about 10:49 last night.
The driver pulled over in the 16600 block of Lisa Avenue, got out and fired “several rounds” at the motorcycle deputy who had made the “code-enforcement stop,” the sheriff's department stated.
That officer returned fire as the suspect fled.
“The suspect continued his assault by firing several rounds at the responding deputies, striking one of them with gunfire,” the department stated.
The suspect then holed up in a structure behind a home in the 9000 block of Mayne Street and held a man hostage, authorities said. That man was able to escape before a SWAT team smoked out the suspect peacefully with tear gas, sheriff's officials said.
A rotund, long-haired and heavily tattooed shirtless man was seen in television coverage being led away from the home in handcuffs.
Despite three exchanges of gunfire with deputies before holing up, it turned out the suspect was not injured, authorities said.
The wounded officers, whose names were not released, were being treated at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center.
Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.