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by wickedthoughtts » July 13th, 2012, 2:51 pm
STOCKTON - Police say a parolee is dead and several of his accomplices are in custody after they exchanged gunfire with officers during a late-night pursuit on Interstate 5.
The suspects are responsible for a woman being shot in north Stockton, authorities said. They fled that scene in a maroon Oldsmobile Silhouette and took police on a chase that nearly spanned the length of the city before ending with a gunbattle in a residential pocket just east of Louis Park minutes before midnight Wednesday.
Involved officers
• Sgt. Matthew Garlick, hired in 2001, assigned to the Community Response Team
• Officer Gary Donaldson, hired in 2007, assigned to Patrol
• Officer Anabel Morris, hired in 2001, assigned to Patrol
• Officer Jared McCall, hired in 2012, assigned to Patrol
• Officer John Hernandez, hired in 2004, assigned to Patrol
• Officer James Manor, hired in 2007, assigned to the Community Response Team
• Officer Bernie Tapia, hired in 2006, assigned to Patrol
— Source: Stockton Police Department
The Stockton Police Department identified Joseph Brooks, 27, as the man killed by gunfire when the pursuit ended at Pixie Drive and Doray Court around 11:45 p.m.
Police say Darold Jarvis, 24; Kevin Ou, 24; and Darance Leav, 19; are in custody on suspicion of being inside the van during the evening's events, said Officer Joe Silva, a police spokesman.
"Brooks was a parolee at large; Jarvis, who admitted to driving the van and was also shot by police, is on probation with a no-bail warrant for his arrest; and Leav and Ou are documented gang members," Silva said.
Police also are interviewing three additional people found in a nearby residence who they suspect were in the getaway van or attempted to shelter the suspects after the pursuit ended, he said.
The incident began about 11:40 p.m. Wednesday, when officers responded to a report of a woman suffering from a gunshot wound to the leg in the 6800 block of North Plymouth Road. A witness to the shooting tailed the Silhouette to a gas station on Hammer Lane near Interstate 5 and called the police, Silva said.
The van merged onto Interstate 5 and headed south. Community Response Team officers spotted the van near downtown and attempted to pull it over.
A chase began when the driver refused to pull over. "The van exited the freeway at Charter Way/MLK and ran a red light before getting on northbound Interstate 5," Silva said.
The pursuit continued to the Monte Diablo Avenue exit, where the van headed toward Louis Park, police said. Three of the van's tires were popped after the California Highway Patrol set up a spike strip on the freeway, Silva said.
Officers noticed movement inside the van as it weaved through the dark residential streets and several rounds were fired at a patrol car, Silva said.
Officers continued following the van before it veered into a curb on the south side of Pixie Drive and crashed into a yard on the north side of the street near Doray Court. Paper cups designated the van's trajectory as investigators collected evidence at the scene Thursday afternoon.
Silva confirmed police attempted to force the van from the roadway after it opened fire. The van stopped and the suspects continued shooting with police returning fire, Silva said. Several men police believed were armed fled from the scene while bullets flew back and forth, according to authorities.
Brooks was struck during the exchange, Silva said, and paramedics and firefighters were unable to enter the area to administer care because the scene hadn't been secured.
"We had them stage nearby because it wasn't safe for them right there," he said. "We suspected there were several armed people on the loose, and we couldn't account for where they were."
In an effort to provide medical attention to Brooks, officers at the scene grabbed and placed him on the hood of a patrol car and drove him through a portion of the neighborhood to waiting paramedics, Silva said.
"Our officers went to help the suspect in the middle of a gunbattle," he said.
Despite the rescue effort, Brooks was pronounced dead on the scene by medical personnel.
Jarvis also suffered a gunshot wound, but his injury is not life-threatening. He was hospitalized and taken into custody after being treated, Silva said. Leav was also arrested.
The early morning hours were spent looking for the remaining suspects.
SWAT officers went door to door looking for them. Authorities ultimately identified and arrested Jeremy Gutierrez, 30; Chanda Uy, 23; and Ou.
Officials have not said how many rounds police fired during the shooting or how many officers discharged their weapons, but six officers and a sergeant have been placed on a standard three-day administrative leave while a preliminary investigation is conducted.
Authorities recovered an AK-47 and four handguns during their search of the van and the surrounding area, Silva said. One of the guns was found on a roof of a nearby home, and another was in some bushes. A weapon was also found on Monte Diablo Avenue where police had pursued the van.
Silva said the maroon Oldsmobile Silhouette involved in the incident may be linked to a drive-by shooting Monday in the 2900 block of Malvern Court in which three people were injured.
The incident is the third fatal officer-involved shooting involving the Stockton Police Department this year. In the first incident, police fatally shot 19-year-old Chomrean Meas in late March after he shot an officer in the stomach. The second fatal shooting took place in early April when Luther Brown Jr., 32, grabbed an officer's baton after attempting to run away from his car during a traffic stop, according to the Stockton Police Department.
Wednesday's gunbattle took place less than 24 hours after two Stockton police officers and a San Joaquin County sheriff's deputy were officially cleared of any criminal wrongdoing in connection with the 2010 shooting of 16-year-old James Rivera Jr.
As with the shootings of Meas and Brown, a formal and multi-agency investigation is under way. Officials from the San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office and California Department of Justice spent most of the day collecting evidence and interviewing witnesses.
There is no timetable for when any of 2012's officer-involved investigations will be complete. Rivera's report took nearly two years to finalize.
Police also announced the District Attorney's Office plans to file homicide charges against Jarvis, Leav and Ou for Brooks' death under the provocative doctrine.
Essentially, the trio will face prosecution for their friend's death because they provoked the shooting, Silva said.
what is going on in stockton????? lol
