A man suspected of fatally shooting two people in Pomona was arrested on Thursday after leading authorities on a chase into neighboring Kern County.
At around 3:30 p.m, the Pomona Police Department received a “shots-fired call with multiple individuals injured,” according to a California Highway Patrol news release. Two people died from their injuries.
As law enforcement responded to the incident, a CHP plane flew overhead to provide support while the agency tapped into its network of license plate readers to look for the suspect’s vehicle.
The suspect was spotted about two hours later driving northbound on the 5 Freeway in a black Kia sedan near Roxford Street, officials said. Officers attempted to stop the suspect, but he did not yield, starting a pursuit.
Officers chased the suspect through several counties, including Kern and Los Angeles, for over an hour and 30 minutes.
The suspect was caught when officers used a spike strip on his tires and stopped the vehicle with a PIT maneuver, according to the CHP.
“A double murder suspect was swiftly taken into custody today because of our partnership with Pomona Police Department, the quick thinking of our CHP crime suppression team, our CHP airplane, the IRIS unit … ,” said CHP Southern Division Chief Chris Margaris in a statement.
The suspect was identified as 48-year-old Robert Galtman, according to ABC7. Galtman was booked Thursday night about 11:30 p.m. and is being held in lieu of $3.1 million bail, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department booking records.
