Suspect held for allegedly firing shots at Livermore cop

A man was arrested Thursday for allegedly firing shots at a Livermore police officer, authorities said.

Miguel Alvarez, 24, of Tracy was taken into custody about 12:30 p.m., about 12 hours after he fired shots at Livermore police Officer Dirk Stoddard, police said. He was expected to be booked at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin on suspicion of attempted murder of a police officer.

An associate of Alvarez, Lizbeth Gonzalez, who turned 25 on Thursday, was arrested on suspicion of recklessly discharging a firearm for an unrelated incident, said Livermore police Officer Arturo Rosas.

The incident began at 12:51 a.m. when police responded to reports of shots being fired near Chestnut and North I streets. Officers saw a man later identified as Alvarez walking on the street and tried to contact him, Rosas said.

But Alvarez turned the corner, ducked behind a car and, “without provocation,” fired numerous shots when Stoddard approached, police said.

Stoddard wasn’t hit and did not return fire, police said.

A search of the area by police and a regional SWAT team did not turn up the suspect but enabled officers to gather leads that led to the arrests, Rosas said.

Henry K. Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: hlee@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @henryklee