Sugarloaf, CA, May 3, 2013 – Big Bear Sheriff’s Deputies assisted in the arrest of an attempted murder suspect Thursday night after a Riverside detective asked for their cooperation.
Suspect Elida Johnson had been involved in an altercation in Riverside with her estranged husband over their children. The 48-year-old woman is accused of stabbing him several times in Riverside before fleeing to a cabin they own in Sugarloaf.
When local deputies located the cabin on the 800 Block of San Bernardino Ave., they found it flooded and filled with natural gas. Johnson had fled in her vehicle, but not before turning on the gas, opening the drain on the water heater and leaving a suicide note. Deputies shut off the gas and water and made sure there were no public safety concerns.
Shortly thereafter, Riverside Police Department personnel attempted to pull Johnson’s vehicle over on Highway 38 near Forest Falls, but she appears to have intentionally jerked the steering wheel to the right to go over the side of the roadway. Johnson was transported by medical personnel for treatment of injuries sustained in the collision.
Officers from the California Highway Patrol investigated the traffic collision, and the Riverside Police Department conducted the investigation on the attempted murder.
