Officer fatally shoots driver after alleged attack

By: JO MORELAND - Staff Writer | Thursday, October 14, 2004 11:27 PM PDT ∞

OCEANSIDE ---- A driver who was believed to have fired rifle shots in an Oceanside neighborhood was fatally shot by a police officer Wednesday night after he tried to run the officer down, police said Thursday.

The death of 19-year-old Juan Santiago Sanchez about midnight Wednesday near his Santa Anita Street home, raised questions among friends and residents who gathered Thursday to erect a memorial to Sanchez and gather donations for his family.

Angry, upset and confused, they questioned police at the site of the shooting. Two uniformed officers were talking with them at noon, supplying what answers they could while trying to defuse the situation under a hot sun.

People wanted to know how the shooting happened, whether Sanchez was given proper medical attention before being pronounced dead at the scene, and why his blood remained on the street 12 hours later.

"When a paramedic walked up (to Sanchez) it was obvious that he was deceased," police Capt. Dave Heering said later.

Heering said he wasn't aware that blood remained on the street and said he would have it removed. A company that had been called by police early in the day removed the blood stains early in the afternoon.

The unnamed officer who shot Sanchez, with the department 2 1/2 years, suffered minor injuries when the suspect's Pontiac pinned him between his patrol car and its door, police said. They said the officer didn't require medical attention.

A rifle found in Sanchez's vehicle appears to be the one that was fired, prompting calls for police, Heering said.

The officer will remain on administrative leave for at least two days. Police detectives are investigating the shooting for a review and findings by the San Diego County District Attorney's office.

Copies of 911 calls related to the shooting will be made available late this morning, Heering said.

"This isn't gang-related," said the captain. "He's not a documented gang member."

It is the second officer-involved shooting this year for Oceanside police. Officers killed 29-year-old parolee Raul Zuniga Aug. 11 after he tried to cash a forged check at a bank and shot Officer Mark Bussey in the leg during a gunfight.

It is the second time in less than a year that there has been a fatal officer-involved shooting in the area of Capistrano Drive, a residential neighborhood of older homes. A block away 29-year-old Jody Handal was fatally shot by two officers on Nov. 6, 2003.

The nude Handal, a parolee, had been smashing vehicle windows with a baseball bat and shovel before he attacked the officers with the shovel, police said.

On Thursday, 15-year-old Paul Mount lit four candles at a fast-growing memorial of photos of Sanchez and flowers at Santa Anita and Capistrano Drive. Sanchez, who lived with his parents, was well-liked, Paul said.

"He was always nice to us," said the teen.

As outlined by police, the shooting happened after officers were called to the 1400 block of Santa Anita Street at 11:54 p.m. Wednesday to reports of a man firing a rifle.

Heering said an officer drove onto Santa Anita, near the Capistrano intersection to investigate. He saw a blue Pontiac slowly coming toward him. The driver was believed to be involved in the rifle shooting, police said.

"The officer stopped in the middle of the road, turned on his overhead lights and got out," said Heering.

Standing between his patrol car and its door, the officer motioned to the driver to stop and told him to stop, said the captain.

"The window was down on the driver's side (of the Pontiac)," Heering said. "The car continued directly at (the officer)."

He said the Pontiac struck the patrol car's door, pinning the officer against his car. The officer fired at the Pontiac driver and the car rolled slowly into a utility pole at the intersection, said Heering.

The officer and two others surrounded the Pontiac, approached the driver and called for paramedics, the captain said. He said one of the paramedics who arrived pronounced Sanchez dead.

Heering said the injured officer was the only one who fired shots. The captain declined to say how many times Sanchez was shot.

A 39-year-old man whose home is at the intersection said he heard three gunshots and thought at first that children were playing with fireworks.

About three minutes later, said the man, who would identify himself only as Kevin, he heard "Pow, pow, pow, pow" just outside his home.

As the firing continued, Kevin said, he and his wife hit the floor. Peeking out his front window, he said, he saw the Pontiac against the pole with three officers surrounding it, guns drawn.

"I heard them say, 'Show us your hands, show us your hands,'' Kevin said. "But the suspect was not moving. One of the officers said 'There's the gun, there's the gun.' Then I heard an officer state, 'He's still moving, he's still moving.' "

At that point, said Kevin, he got his videocamera and began taping what was happening.

After hearing a third officer say something about getting some gauze for the suspect, said Kevin, he opened his door and offered medical supplies. He said the officers told him they were fine and to get back in his house.

Kevin said he wasn't judging police about what happened, but wanted to know why Sanchez didn't receive some kind of immediate medical attention.

"I've lived here about six months," he said. "I didn't expect this to happen in my front yard."

Contact staff writer Jo Moreland at (760) 740-3524 or jmoreland@nctimes.com.