FOUNTAIN VALLEY : Two Men Arrested in Traffic Dispute

Police arrested two Riverside men suspected of firing shots at another car following a traffic dispute.

Gabriel Valenzuela, 20, and Gary Pearson, 19, were held on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.

The shots were fired at 5:28 a.m. Thursday as the suspects’ truck and a car headed south on Brookhurst Street, Police Sgt. Larry Griswold said.

The occupants of the two vehicles had a brief argument involving right of way, Griswold said. One of the suspects reportedly drew a handgun and shot at the 1969 Chevy Nova occupied by three Santa Ana youths, Griswold said.

The Santa Ana youths responded by ramming the rear of the suspects’ 1986 Nissan pickup, the sergeant said.

The youths then stopped their car and called police. As an officer was taking a report of the incident, the suspects’ vehicle drove by the scene of the shooting, Griswold said.

The officer gave pursuit and later arrested both men.

Officers, however, did not recover a weapon and found no evidence that the youths’ car had been struck by gunshots, he said.