An attempted murder suspect in Sausalito was arrested after vaulting down a hillside to escape and impaling his arm on a piece of metal, police said Sunday.
The incident started at about 11:30 p.m. Saturday on San Carlos Avenue, said Sausalito police Capt. William Fraass. The suspect allegedly attacked his girlfriend and fired a gun at a man who came to assist, Fraass said.
Sausalito police and officers from other agencies searched the neighborhood and found the suspect hiding in some bushes. The suspect ran to a staircase railing, jumped over and fell about 30 feet down the hill. A piece of rebar protruding from the ground pierced his wrist, Fraass said.
Southern Marin paramedics spent about an hour extricating the suspect from the rebar. Investigators found a loaded .357-caliber Colt revolver and a spent shell casing in the area, and linked them to the suspect, Fraass said.
Eric Nelson, a resident of Sausalito and Vacaville, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, domestic violence, gun possession by a felon, possessing a loaded gun and resisting arrest.
Medics took Nelson, 30, to MarinHealth Medical Center in Greenbrae for treatment. Later he was transferred to San Francisco General Hospital for wrist surgery.
The other agencies involved in the search included the Marin County Sheriff’s
Office, the Mill Valley Police Department, the California Highway Patrol and the San Rafael Police Department.