A man suspected of fatally shooting a San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy in Rancho Cucamonga this week had been fighting with his ex-wife and allegedly was trying to force her into a car at gunpoint before the deadly encounter, the Southern California News Group has learned.
Angelo Jose Saldivar, 47, of San Bernardino was hospitalized after leading deputies on a pursuit along the 210 Freeway shortly after he shot and killed Deputy Andrew Nunez as he responded to a domestic disturbance call at a condominium complex on Hollyhock Drive near Victoria Gardens, just after 12:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 27.
Court records show Saldivar and his wife separated in September 2024 and that his wife then filed for divorce, which was granted on July 30, 2025. The couple had been married for 18 years and have a 17-year-old daughter. According to the court judgment, the couple were granted joint custody, but the ex-wife was granted primary physical custody. Both agreed that there would be no child support order, according to the judgment.
On the day of the shooting, sheriff’s dispatchers fielded multiple calls from residents reporting there was a lot of yelling and screaming, and at least two or three gunshots shots fired, at the residence.
“They were recently divorced, and he was trying to get back with her,” a source close to the investigation said Friday on condition of anonymity, adding that Saldivar’s ex-wife reported he was trying to force her into a car at gunpoint when deputies arrived. It was unclear whose car that was given Saldivar escaped on a motorcycle.
“She was hugging a tree, preventing him from dragging her into the car,” the source said. When deputies started arriving, the source said, Saldivar took cover in an alcove near the front door, hiding behind a wall.
Nunez got out of his patrol car and was standing behind its door — about 40 feet from Saldivar and in his line of sight, the source said.
“(Saldivar) peeked out from behind the wall and took a shot at the deputy, then retreated into the residence,” said the source, who added that Nunez was shot once in the face.
Saldivar also is accused of firing shots at other deputies. The source said multiple bystanders also were standing by when the shooting occurred. One of them was walking her dog through the complex, and was on the phone with a 911 dispatcher when she walked by and saw Nunez get shot. “She ran away,” the source said.
Saldivar managed to flee the residence on a motorcycle and lead deputies on a pursuit along the 210 Freeway, reaching speeds of more than 150 mph, Sheriff Shannon Dicus said.
At one point, the suspect was seen on TV footage holding what appeared to be a handgun and attempting to position it in one hand while not holding the handlebars.
The pursuit ended near the Campus Avenue exit of the eastbound 210 shortly after 1:30 p.m., when an off-duty narcotics deputy used his car to intervene to nudge Saldivar on the motorcycle, sending him toppling over the hood of the detective’s car, Dicus said.
Saldivar was hospitalized for his injuries, and the Sheriff’s Department said Tuesday he will be booked on suspicion of murder upon medical clearance.
Investigators later discovered multiple firearms inside the Rancho Cucamonga residence. Some were registered to Saldivar and some were registered to his ex-wife, the source said.