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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: lurqer who wrote (39315)	3/11/2004 7:17:11 PM
From: lurqer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

Stockton man arrested in freeway shootings Cops say sketch, reward led to tips from the public Henry K. Lee A Stockton man was arrested Thursday in connection with an evening spree of East Bay freeway shootings in which eight cars were struck with bullets one night last month. Christopher Charles Gafford, 27, was arrested at his home in Stockton at about 6:30 a.m. and booked on suspicion of eight counts of attempted murder, investigators said during a news conference at the Dublin office of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Investigators released few details about Gafford or the investigation leading to his arrest. They said a composite sketch of the shooter and a $5,000 reward for tips leading to the shooter's arrest and conviction led to numerous calls from the public. Two specific tips in the past 48 hours led investigators to Gafford, said CHP Lt. Rob Patrick. Patrick said the suspect resembles a computer-generated sketch created by San Leandro police Detective Cathy Pickard. Gafford is in custody at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin pending his arraignment Monday, investigators said. On Feb. 23, eight motorists driving along a 10-mile stretch of I-580 between San Leandro and Dublin were struck by bullets from what the CHP believed was a .22-caliber handgun. No motorists were reported to have been shot or injured in the attacks, but the incidents stirred fear among motorists, some of whom reported that they, too, were attacked after Feb. 23. The CHP concluded that freeway incidents since Feb. 23 involved rocks hitting car windows or resulted from unrelated cases of road rage. Some victims described the assailant as a light-skinned man in his 30s, balding or having a military-style haircut, driving a dark, American-made truck with an extended cab. The CHP declined Thursday to describe the truck that officers found at Gafford's home and impounded. Authorities declined to release further details on the investigation, pending an ongoing investigation in which authorities have yet to interview acquaintances of the suspect as they build their case, Patrick said. Authorities arrested 14 people on unrelated weapons, drugs and traffic violations during the course of the investigation, which included Alameda County sheriff's deputies and San Leandro police besides the CHP and ATF. In one case, three people in a pickup truck were taken into custody after the driver -- who was lost -- carelessly threw a cigarette out the window, piquing the interest of a CHP officer. A search of the truck yielded marijuana, hashish and ecstasy, the CHP said. Staff Writer Matthew B. Stannard contributed to this report. sfgate.com lurqer