Opening Fire in Menifee
MENIFEE (CNS) – Two young men suspected of shooting randomly at unknown targets in the vicinity of Menifee homes were released from custody Tuesday after posting bonds.
Jakeem Lorenz Jones, 20, and Savon Percy Brazier, 21, both of Menifee, were arrested Monday and booked into the Byrd Detention Center following a Menifee Police Department investigation.
Jones was booked on suspicion of carrying a concealed loaded firearm, carrying a gun registered to another person, illegal possession of a large capacity magazine and resisting arrest. He posted a $10,000 bond and was released from the Murrieta jail Tuesday morning.
Brazier was booked on suspicion of conspiracy. He posted a $5,000 bond and was also turned loose Tuesday.
According to police, at 11:40 a.m. Monday, the pair were allegedly driving in the area of McCall and Valley boulevards when they stopped, and Jones got out of the car armed with a 9mm handgun.
Police spokesman Chase Coburn alleged the suspect aimed the gun at a hillside, facing away from nearby homes, and “fired several rounds” in a northerly direction.
The suspects then drove away from the location, but the behavior prompted at least one 911 call, after which the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department’s STAR-9 air unit was summoned to assist with tracking down the vehicle, according to Coburn.
Coburn said the helicopter crew couldn’t find it. However, patrol officers encountered the car shortly after 4 p.m. on Newport Road at the south end of the city.
“When officers initiated a traffic stop, the front passenger exited the vehicle and fled on foot, prompting a pursuit,” Coburn said.
The fleeing passenger, later identified as Jones, allegedly tossed the semiautomatic pistol while running, the police spokesman said. Officers took the suspect into custody without further incident moments later.
Brazier remained with the car and was taken into custody without a struggle.
“A subsequent search of the vehicle uncovered a 50-round drum magazine,” Coburn said.
Background information on the suspects was unavailable.
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