December 20, 2013

A California man is in custody after allegedly firing gunshots at Blytheville Police Officers Wednesday night on the west side of town.

A California man is in custody after allegedly firing gunshots at Blytheville Police Officers Wednesday night on the west side of town.

Daniel Johnson, 22, of Merced, Calif., was taken into custody on parole warrants from his home state, as well as aggravated assault on an officer and other pending charges, after being found hiding near an abandoned vehicle that had been involved in a brief shootout with BPD officers near the 2200 block of Peabody Street Wednesday night.

The incident occurred around 7 p.m. when officers heard gunshots while on a service call on Peabody Street. According to BPD Chief Ross Thompson, when the officers approached the area where they believed the shots originated, an officer was nearly run over by a vehicle fleeing the scene. The driver of the car then fired shots at the BPD officers, who returned fire.

The vehicle was found, abandoned, shortly after that, and Johnson was found hiding nearby. No injuries were reported and only minor property damages occurred as a result of the incident.

cpinkard@blythevillecourier.com

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