By The Hemet Police Department
Contributed
On Oct. 2 at about 5:40 p.m., a Hemet Police Department (HPD) officer was patrolling the area of Domenigoni Parkway near Sanderson Avenue in the city of Hemet. The officer noticed a red Toyota Solara near him and recognized the driver as the suspect in a recent shooting that had occurred in the city of Hemet a little over a week ago. During that incident, the suspect, identified as Johnathan Kyler Nunn, 25 of Idyllwild, fled before police arrival in the same red Toyota Solara.
As the officer pulled in behind the red Toyota Solara, Nunn immediately fled and a pursuit was initiated. Nunn then began shooting a handgun at the pursuing officer as he sped westbound on Domenigoni Parkway toward Winchester Road in an area southwest of Hemet. The officer’s police car was struck by gunfire, but the officer was not hit or injured.
During the pursuit, which had entered the unincorporated area of Winchester, the suspect also shot at a California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer who happened to be stopped alongside of the roadway. The CHP officer was not injured, but at least one bullet hit the officer’s CHP patrol vehicle.
Neither the Hemet Police officer nor the CHP officer returned fire at the suspect in the speeding vehicle. They did, however, continue to pursue the suspect as officers and deputies from near-by agencies began to converge on the area. An airship from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department also arrived and began tracking the pursuit.
The suspect fired several more times at pursuing officers while traveling toward the area of Highway 74 and Juniper Flatts Road, where he came to a stop. At that point, Nunn tossed his gun onto the dirt and surrendered without further incident. A distraught adult female passenger was also detained at that time.
As officers were converging on the scene, a traffic collision occurred at the near-by intersection of Highway 74 at Warren Road in the city of Hemet. A Hemet Police unit, driving westbound on Highway 74 with lights & siren on, collided with a white Toyota Camry that was traveling northbound on Warren Road. No injuries were reported following the traffic collision, but traffic in the area was backed up for several minutes while the California Highway Patrol conducted an investigation and the involved vehicles were removed from the roadway.
Bail is not yet set and Nunn was arrested on two counts of attempted murder of peace officers. For additional charges, visit http://jimspub.riversidesheriff.org/cgi-bin/iisinfo.acu?bkno=202032772G.
The investigation into the adult female’s involvement in this case is still ongoing at the time of this release. Nunn’s charges regarding the Sept. 23 shooting case have not yet been filed as that investigation is also still ongoing.
If you have information about these or any other HPD cases, you can reach us by telephone or the new HPD smartphone app available for free via the Apple App Store for iOS devices and Google Play for Android users. Anonymous tips are always accepted.
