California Department of Justice criminalists recovered multiple empty 9-millimeter shell casings when examining the suspect’s car
“We are grateful no officer was injured in these pursuits and exchange of gunfire. We thank California DOJ criminalists for assisting local law enforcement with processing evidence. This is a big help with charging and prosecuting suspects, and goes a long way toward protecting the public.”
CSLEA President Alan Barcelona
BUTTE COUNTY – On February 19, 2026, Kristian Stevens, 32, of Chico, was arraigned and faces life imprisonment on a charge of attempting to murder a Butte County Sheriff’s Deputy following a high-speed chase in the Centerville area of Butte Creek Canyon on the evening of February 14, 2026.
Stevens was also arraigned in Butte County Superior Court on two counts of evading Chico Police in Chico the day before, February 13th, while driving two different vehicles. Stevens also faces additional firearm, theft, and drug offenses based on evidence gathered during the officer-involved shooting investigation.
Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said Stevens came into contact with the Chico Police Department on Friday, February 13, 2026, after a routine traffic stop around noon escalated into a high-speed chase when Stevens fled from Chico Police officers in a friend’s 2005 red Dodge Magnum. Officers called off the chase as too dangerous at that time and location, but were able to identify Stevens. Later that afternoon, officers located Stevens driving a 1996 white Honda Civic and attempted to stop him, but again had to call off a pursuit in urban Chico as too dangerous.
The next day, February 14, 2026, the white Honda Civic was spotted by Butte County Sheriff’s deputies at a Magalia gas station at approximately 9:54 p.m. Stevens again fled from deputies in the Honda Civic, triggering a pursuit through the Magalia area and down Centerville Road toward Chico that lasted approximately 20 minutes and covered 14.5 miles.
During the pursuit, evidence showed Stevens fired multiple shots at the pursuing deputies through the rear window of his car with a semi-automatic handgun. The vehicle pursuit ended when Stevens crashed his Honda into a side bank of Centerville Road between the intersections of Center Gap Road and Quail Run Drive. Stevens exited his vehicle and stepped into the roadway, a semi-automatic pistol in hand, as Deputy Edward Rodriguez pulled up behind the crashed Honda in his patrol vehicle. Stevens then leveled his pistol at the deputy and fired multiple shots. The deputy, attempting to take cover, exited his vehicle and returned fire. Neither the deputy nor Stevens was hit in the exchange.
Stevens then disappeared into a nearby wooded area. As law enforcement gathered to begin a manhunt for Stevens in the rural Butte Creek Canyon, Stevens stole a truck from a nearby home further down in the canyon, unbeknownst to the gathering law enforcement, and smashed through a metal gate to leave the area. Law enforcement later located Stevens at a friend’s apartment in Chico during the early morning hours of February 15, 2026. He was arrested by a combined force of Chico and Butte County Sheriff’s SWAT teams. A 9-millimeter semi-automatic unserialized (“ghost”) gun with a 30- round magazine was recovered from the apartment.
A later examination of the Honda Civic by the California Department of Justice’s criminalists recovered multiple empty 9-millimeter shell casings and over an ounce of methamphetamine from Steven’s Honda.
At Steven’s arraignment, prosecutors asked that Steven be held without bail based on his actions and past record. The request was granted, and he is currently being held at the Butte County Jail without bail. He will be back in court next Thursday, February 26, 2026, to enter a plea.
