Deputy Sheriff James B. Evans

James B. Evans

Deputy Sheriff James Evans was shot and killed when he was ambushed by bank robbers during a pursuit.

Several deputies had responded to a bank robbery call of several heavily armed men robbing a bank in Norco, California. A gunfight ensued in the parking lot in which one suspect was shot and killed, and several others fled the scene in a stolen car. The pursuit entered the Lytle Creek area of the San Bernardino mountains.

The suspects suddenly stopped the car near the Stockton Flat Campground in the San Bernardino National Forest, and as Deputy Evans rounded a corner, they opened fire with M-16 rifles, killing him. The suspects then fled on foot. During the search for them, one was shot and killed, and three others were taken into custody.

Deputy Evans was a United States Army Vietnam Veteran and had served with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department for five years. He was survived by his wife, son, and three stepchildren.