A man was behind bars today on suspicion of choking his wife, then attacking a man who tried to help her and stealing his vehicle.
Van Henry Moncrief, 31, was arrested about 2 p.m. Sunday at Oak Glen Road and westbound Interstate 10. Someone had reported a vehicle leaving the road near eastbound I-10 at the 8th Street exit around 12:40 p.m., according to the Banning Police Department.
An older man saw the vehicle leave the road and stopped to help.
“He found a male adult choking a female adult inside the vehicle. When the witness confronted the male, he released the female and then turned and attacked the witness, knocking him to the ground,” police said in a statement.
“The suspect then took the second victim’s vehicle and fled the scene.”
California Highway Patrol officers spotted the stolen vehicle headed west on I-10 and chased the suspect, eventually arresting him. Police determined he was married to the woman in the vehicle and he attacked her while they were traveling.
The woman was transported to Desert Regional Medical Center for treatment. The carjacking victim was treated and released at the scene, according to police.
Moncrief was booked in the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside on suspicion of attempted murder, carjacking, inflicting corporal injury on a spouse and other allegations.
He was being held in lieu of $1 million bail and was expected to be arraigned Wednesday at the Banning Court, according to jail records.
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