Man sets own truck ablaze while trying to evade deputies, damaging multiple vehicles

A Bloomington man is behind bars after he intentionally set fire to his truck on Thursday, causing it to explode and damage other vehicles, while attempting to elude the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.

Rolando Guillen Ochoa, 58, allegedly intentionally rammed a maintenance golf cart several times at Cedar Village Mobile Home Park, in the 10700 block of Valley Cedar Avenue, just before 4 p.m., the SBSD said in a news release.

Ochoa then fled, and a deputy and her training officer pursued him and “conducted a felony traffic stop on the vehicle, driven by Ochoa, near the main exit of the complex,” the release said.

“Ochoa lit his vehicle on fire, drove for a short distance and stopped while he remained inside,” the release added. “Ochoa finally exited his vehicle and threw himself on the floor next to the driver’s door as the vehicle became completely engulfed in flames.”

Deputies pulled Ochoa away from the truck as it exploded, but “several unoccupied vehicles parked next to the community swimming pool where the incident took place caught on fire and were severely damaged.”

Additionally, homes had to be evacuated due to the threat of flames, deputies said.

The flames were eventually extinguished and no homes were damaged, though Ochoa was hospitalized, then transferred to the West Valley Detention Center. No one else was injured.

He is being held in lieu of $90,000 bail and faces charges of arson causing great bodily injury, assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm and vandalism, jail records show.

He’s due to appear in Rancho Superior Court on Monday.

Anyone with information can submit a tip anonymously by calling WeTip at 800-78-CRIME (27463) or by visiting wetip.com.

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