Man Accused of Accidentally Shooting Deputies in Justice Act

STOCKTON, Calif. (KCRA) – Authorities in California say a man’s attempt to get justice led him to accidentally shoot law enforcement.

It all unfolded last Thursday in San Joaquin County.

Deputies initially responded to an alarm at the Pick-n-Pull store on Clark Drive in Stockton around 1:30 a.m. Thursday morning.

“There were three subjects running from the business through the yard, so we set up a perimeter around the business and we get our drone up in the air and get our K-9s and try to catch the bad guys. trying to steal things,” described San Joaquin County Sheriff Patrick Withrow.

As deputies were entering their duties, a man who lives in the area called his nephew and said he saw three men running across his front porch.

“So he went down on a golf cart with his assault rifle to help his grandfather, who was calling him and told him there were bad guys at his house,” Withrow explained.

An apparent vigilante accidentally shot California deputies, the sheriff said.

The sheriff says this was the suspect’s first mistake.

“Not even grandpa or him called law enforcement to say, ‘Hey, look. Someone is at my grandfather’s house and I’m going to go there to protect my grandfather, fearing for his safety,” Withrow added.

The man then ran into who he thought were the Pick-n-Pull suspects, but they were actually deputies.

“All of a sudden, from behind, somebody started shooting at them, and luckily both officers were up against a concrete cylindrical wall,” Withrow said.

The suspect fired two rounds before those deputies could identify themselves.

“Instead of immediately returning fire, they began yelling commands to drop the firearm, which fortunately the subject immediately did,” the sheriff added.

The suspect was taken into custody and no one was injured in the incident.

“Fortunately, none of the charges are murder or attempted murder at this time. He is charged with assault with a deadly weapon,” Withrow said.