Off-Duty Fresno Deputy Shot With Pellet Gun; 2 Arrested

FRIANT (AP) — Two men have been arrested in the shooting of an off-duty Fresno County Sheriff's deputy with a pellet gun.

Deputy Mike Montanez was shot in the back on Tuesday while he was riding his bicycle near Friant.

Sheriff Margaret Mims says 23-year-old Christopher Touchstone and 26-year-old Larry McLaughlin were later arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon in connection with the attack. It was not immediately clear whether they had attorneys.

Authorities apparently received a call identifying McLaughlin as a suspect and also naming Touchstone.

Mims says investigators believe the attack was random and Montanez was not targeted because he was a deputy.

Montanez was knocked off his bike and will have to see a specialist to determine if the round from the pellet gun can be removed from his back.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.)