SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — Police say a man suspected in a double killing in the Las Vegas area was wounded in a shootout with Southern California authorities after he led them on a high-speed chase that he livestreamed on Facebook.
Roger Tindell, 36, remained hospitalized but is expected to recover, the Desert Sun reported Friday.
The chase began just after 2 a.m. Wednesday after deputies responded to a call about a shooting at a home in Yucca Valley, 115 miles east of Los Angeles. A six-minute video on Tindell's Facebook page shows him having a tense exchange with a woman in the passenger seat who he says is his hostage and that she was pregnant.
At other points in the video, Tindell says he felt bad for taking her hostage and that he loves her, referring to her as "babe." He's also shown driving recklessly and occasionally holding the phone outside the car to capture the pursuing patrol cars.
Deputies say Tindell exchanged gunfire with them and that the chase ended when he collided with a patrol car.
"Now I'm dead," Tindell said to the camera near the end of the video. "I'm gonna die."
The woman shouted: "I have to raise our son alone. Thank you."
Tindell was charged with eight counts of attempted murder of a peace officer, and one count each of assault with a deadly weapon, and evading police. It's unclear whether he has an attorney.
Neither the woman nor the deputies were hurt but a 43-year-old man was found shot at the home in Yucca Valley and taken to the hospital. His condition wasn't immediately clear.
Meanwhile police in Henderson, Nevada say Tindell is a suspect in the deaths of a man and a woman found dead last week. An FBI task force had been searching for Tindell in connection with the killings of 28-year-old Melisa Mason and 40-year-old Robin McComb, found dead in their Henderson home of head injuries.
McComb's nephew, Nathan Lobato, told KLAS-TV that Mason and McComb met Tindell at a rave seven years ago and that he always felt something was "off" about Tindell.
"It's like a bad dream. I still don't want to believe this," Lobato said. "They're both just two great people. Melissa and Robin both would never do anything to deserve this."