Deputies with the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department Crime Impact Team arrested a man Monday afternoon in Canyon Country who had a warrant out for his arrest for assault with a deadly weapon against a police officer.
Rafael Salinas, 34, of Canyon Country, was arrested shortly after noon by CIT deputies, according to Shirley Miller, spokeswoman for the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station. Crime Impact Team deputies focus on “targeted crime suppression and investigations,” according to the LASD website.
The original allegation Salinas was sought for stemmed from a report of an auto theft that deputies investigated July 8 in the area of Newhall Avenue and Sierra Highway in Newhall.
He was seen driving at a high rate of speed and deputies then discovered the vehicle he was in had been reported stolen, Miller said.
She said the alleged assault happened at the end of the pursuit.
“He jumped out of the vehicle while it was still in motion, and then the vehicle collided into a patrol car,” Miller said in a phone conversation, referring to the July incident.
He was taken into custody Monday on Silver Saddle Circle, north of Sand Canyon Road.
Salinas had a court appearance Tuesday.
The outcome of that hearing was not immediately available from the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office, but Salinas remains in custody without bail as of this story’s publication.
