Fresno County Sheriff’s detectives booked John Sayer, 70, of Livermore into the Fresno County Jail on felonies of assault with a firearm and shooting at an occupied vehicle. He has since posted bond and bailed out of jail.
Around 9:00 am on Sunday, a 40 year old man was driving northbound on Interstate 5 near the Hwy. 198 intersection. The driver looked in his rear view mirror and saw a Toyota Camry, driven by John Sayer, weaving in and out of traffic. Sayer eventually got behind the victim and began to tailgate him. Once traffic cleared, Sayer maneuvered his Camry to the other lane and passed the victim and then got in front of him in the number one lane. The victim later passed Sayer and then got back in front of him in the number one lane. Sayer moved to the number two lane and began to drive alongside the victim with his driver side window down. At this time, the victim heard a loud banging noise, but was unsure if it was gunfire or just road debris. The victim chased after Sayer and used his cell phone to record video of the Camry and its license plate. A moment later, a California Highway Patrol officer pulled over the victim for speeding. The victim told the officer he was trying to catch up to a motorist who may have shot at his car. The officer checked his car and found a bullet hole in the passenger door. The victim gave the officer a description of the suspect and his cell phone video which showed the Camry and its license plate number. The CHP officer gave the information to Fresno County Sheriff’s detectives so they could investigate the shooting.
Detectives ran the license plate number and found the car was registered to John Sayer, who lived on the 1400 block of 5th Street in Livermore, CA. Livermore Police officers went to the home, found Sayer and arrested him without any problems. FSO detectives arrived and served a search warrant at the home and detectives recovered a total seven guns, which included three handguns, three assault rifles and a sniper rifle. Thousands of rounds of ammunition were also discovered. All guns were legally registered to Sayer, who had no prior criminal history.
This remains an ongoing investigation. Anyone who has additional information on the suspect in this case is asked to please contact the FSO Dispatch Center at (559) 600-3111. You may also call Valley Crime Stoppers at (559) 498-STOP (7867). All tips will remain anonymous and you may be eligible for a cash reward.
