29 Palms shooting suspect was allegedly smoking meth for days

Deputies with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department are releasing more information regarding the deadly shooting that occurred at a Motel 6 in Twentynine Palms early Tuesday morning. Police were surrounding the Motel 6 located in the 72500 block of Twentynine Palms Highway to investigate a report of a man with a gun at about 3:20 a.m.

A 39-year-old man from Yucca Valley was killed from gunfire after deputies said he fired upon them when they knocked on the motel room’s door to investigate. Authorities said they initially heard a gunshot from inside the room, and then the door immediately opened and the suspect fired a handgun at deputies.

Deputies returned fire and retreated to cover. The suspect went back into the motel room and closed the door at that time, according to the sheriff’s release.

Authorities haven’t released the man’s name at this time, but they said they arrested a 39-year-old woman from Yucca Valley named Tani Garcia, who exited the room after the shots were exchanged. Garcia told them the suspect was armed and alive, but was injured in the shooting.

She told authorities that she and the suspect had been up for several days smoking methamphetamine and checked into the room a few hours earlier because they feared they were being followed by unknown persons who wanted to kill them, deputies said in a news release.

SWAT responded to the motel to try and talk the suspect out of the room. At 8 a.m., a robot equipped with a camera was sent into the room. Authorities said the suspect appeared to be deceased, and that’s when they entered the room and determined he had in fact died in the shooting.

Deputies said they located a loaded Taurus 9mm handgun near the suspect. Two additional loaded magazines were found in the suspect’s pants pocket.

An autopsy is being conducted at the Riverside County Coroner’s Office to determine the official cause and manner of death.

Garcia was arrested for being under the influence of a controlled substance and was booked into the Morongo Basin Station.

Officials said several guests at the motel were evacuated during the incident. No other people or deputies were injured.

KESQ News Channel 3 and CBS Local 2 will deliver updated information as soon as we hear back from the sheriff’s department.