A 28-year-old Fresno man was sentenced Thursday to 12 years and four months in prison after he was found guilty of assault with a deadly weapon for throwing a shovel at an auto theft investigator two years earlier.

The Fresno County District Attorney’s Office said Antonio Jesus Palomino was arrested on Sept. 25, 2020 after a high-speed chase of a stolen vehicle that started at West Avenue and Golden State Boulevard when Help Eliminate Auto Theft (HEAT) task force members located a stolen 2020 Ford Explorer.

During a chase of the vehicle that led investigators on highways 99, 180, and 41 as well as surface streets, Palomino threw a shovel out of the sunroof of the stolen vehicle at an investigator who was forced to take evasive maneuvers at high speed to avoid being struck and injured, the District Attorney’s Office said.

Palomino was found guilty on Aug. 22 and was sentenced Thursday by Judge Gregory Fain. It was Palomino’s second strike conviction for assault with a deadly weapon. He was convicted on Dec. 23, 2014 for assault with a deadly weapon resulting in great bodily injury.