Man arrested for hit-and-run, assault Thursday

A Porterville man was arrested Thursday on several charges including Assault with a Deadly Weapon and Vandalism after he nearly injured an eyewitness who was trying to detain him after a hit-and-run accident.

On Thursday at 9:24 a.m., officers with the Porterville Police Department were dispatched to Jaye Street and Springville Avenue regarding the report of a hit-and-run traffic collision that had just occurred. The suspect vehicle had reportedly fled westbound on Springville Avenue.

Officers arrived on scene and contacted the victim and her 3-year-old child, both of whom were uninjured as a result of the collision. As Officers were investigating the collision, a witness arrived on

scene and directed officers' attention to a male subject who was walking nearby.

Officers detained the male subject, who was later identified as Michael Garcia, and he was established as the suspect in the hitand-run investigation. Garcia was detained without incident.

Subsequent investigation revealed that the witness followed the suspect vehicle to the area where Garcia abandoned it. The witness attempted to detain Garcia, at which time there was a brief struggle. After the altercation, Garcia fled on foot, but the witness continued to follow him and also attempted to call police. As the witness followed, Garcia reportedly became upset and produced a knife.

Garcia ran up to the driver's window of the witness' vehicle, threatened to stab him, and made a stabbing motion at the witness. The witness accelerated forward to avoid being stabbed, but Garcia

stabbed a tire of the witness' vehicle, resulting in damage.

The witness continued following Garcia at a distance to the area of Jaye Street and Springville Avenue, where he directed Officers to Garcia.

Garcia was arrested on the aforementioned charges and booked into the custody of the Tulare County Sheriff's Office, where he was lodged in lieu of $50,000 bail.