La Mesa, California — On Sunday, August 6, 2023, two La Mesa Police Officers contacted a suspect who had an active felony warrant for burglary in the parking lot of a condominium complex at 8000 University Avenue. Officers had confirmed the status of the subject’s felony warrant and obtained a photograph of the suspect prior to contacting him. At approximately 4:13 p.m., the officers saw the suspect standing outside of the passenger side of a vehicle parked in the lot. When officers contacted the suspect, he took out a handgun and pointed it directly at an officer who was standing in front of the vehicle. It appears the suspect tried to fire at the officer multiple times but the firearm malfunctioned.

In response, one officer discharged his firearm multiple times at the suspect as he ran through the parking lot. As the suspect continued to run towards University Avenue, it appeared the suspect was trying to manipulate or clear the firearm of the malfunction. The officer discharged his firearm, striking the suspect in the upper body multiple times. This incapacitated the suspect and caused him to drop the firearm. Officers rendered first aid and called for paramedics but the suspect was pronounced deceased at the scene a short time later. The preliminary investigation into this incident indicates a passing vehicle was struck by a round but the motorist in that vehicle was not struck. There was also at least one round that struck a building within the lot. No officers or other persons were injured during this incident.

The suspect in this incident has been identified as Jason Hampton of La Mesa. He is described as a 41-year-old white male. The officer involved in the shooting has been identified as Brian Heller. He has been employed by the La Mesa Police Department for approximately six years. He is currently assigned as a Master Patrol Officer in La Mesa and has been placed on paid leave per the La Mesa Police Department’s standard protocol following an officer-involved shooting incident. The second officer present did not fire his weapon during this incident. Per the Countywide Memorandum of Understanding, the San Diego Police Homicide Unit was called to the scene to conduct the officer-involved-shooting investigation. Detectives are continuing to gather evidence, interview witnesses, and examine the circumstances surrounding the shooting. A loaded 9mm handgun was recovered at the scene.

The family of a Tulare man killed by police released video this week they said shows he was not a threat to officers, who shot him in the back as he fled. Joel Villegas was killed by Tulare police about 3:15 p.m. April 16 after a 911 caller reported seeing someone in the area of Bardsley Ave and Vetter Street with a knife, Tulare police said in a news release. Villegas, 34, was remembered by family as a doting father and a person others wanted to be around because he made them smile. “What they did was wrong,” older brother Armando Villegas said. “It was unfair to his wife and kids and family. He mattered.” His family released video from a Tulare officer’s body-worn camera that shows the officer yelling commands as Villegas runs away from him. At one point he trips, before getting up again and continuing to flee. The video shows Villegas never advanced on police before officers fired several rounds. Officers in the video can be heard saying Villegas was not breathing before an officer begins CPR. The shooting was “so egregious,” according to Dale Galipo, the attorney representing one of Villegas’s sons and his father.

San Diego County Sheriff’s Department officials report that on August 15, 2023, at about 6:45 p.m., San Diego Police Department detectives were serving a search warrant san diego county sheriff department logofor an apartment in the 6100 block of El Cajon Blvd in San Diego. The subject of the search warrant was identified by their detectives as the outstanding suspect in a shooting that occurred on August 2, 2023. That shooting was the catalyst for the radio call that SDPD responded to, and eventually ended in an OIS at Mesa College.

SDPD detectives set up a perimeter on the apartment building and conducted a contain and call-out procedure. They made phone calls into the apartment, did call-outs directly outside of the apartment and gave verbal commands and warnings. The suspect eventually exited the apartment with a loaded handgun in his hand. Officers gave the suspect commands to drop the gun, which he eventually did. Officers gave the suspect commands to move away from the handgun which was on the ground near his feet. The suspect refused and kept looking at the gun. Despite multiple warnings and commands from the officers, the suspect quickly lunged to grab the gun. This prompted one of the officers to discharge his firearm multiple times. The suspect was struck multiple times and went to the ground. Officers provided medical aid, but the suspect succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased by paramedics around 7:00 p.m.

The Medical Examiner's office conducted an autopsy. The preliminary results for the cause of death are gunshot wounds; the manner is homicide. The suspect has been identified as 31-year-old Xavier Benjamine Lacosta. His last known address was in the city of San Diego.

Lacosta was previously arrested and convicted of 23152(B) VC – Driving under the influence and 11377(A) HS – Possession of methamphetamine.

No officers or civilians were injured. The officer involved in the shooting has been identified as Gregory Simon. He has been employed by the San Diego Police Department since September of 2016. He is currently assigned to the Special Operations Unit.

To view the previous press release dated August 16, 2023, click links below.

Per the Countywide Memorandum of Understanding, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department Homicide Unit was called to the scene to conduct the officer-involved-shooting investigation. At this stage of the investigation, the circumstances of the shooting are still under investigation. Detectives are currently gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses, and examining the circumstances surrounding the shooting.

The investigation and review process for officer-involved shootings are extremely thorough. When the Homicide Unit completes its investigation, it will be reviewed by the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office to determine if the officers bear any state criminal liability for their actions. The San Diego Police Department will conduct an administrative investigation into the officer’s discharge of his firearm. The Commission on Police Practices (CPP) will conduct a review of the incident and provide any appropriate recommendations. The Department of Justice was notified of the above incident.

IMPD has released a summary video of the officer-involved shooting earlier this month where an IMPD officer fatally shot a man following a traffic stop on the city's northeast side. 49-year-old Gary Dwayne Harrell died after being shot by IMPD Officer Douglas Correll, a 28-year-veteran of IMPD. According to police, Harrell was stopped for reckless driving in the 3400 block of Parker Avenue at 9:40 a.m. on August 3. Prior to the release of the video, IMPD explained Harrell exited his vehicle and began speaking with the officer before the officer could approach his car. Harrell then jumped back into the driver's seat of his vehicle, disregarding the officer's verbal commands at the scene. Police have not released information about what commands were given by the officer. While the officer was trying to speak with the Harrell, he jumped back out of the car with a gun in his hand and ran from the scene, police said. After a short foot chase, Correll provided more commands and eventually fired his weapon.

Newly released video footage and police reports offer more details in an incident that resulted in the July 24 shooting of an armed man by a state police officer outside a Tesuque residence.

Galen Mason-Muller of Algodones faces two charges of aggravated assault on a peace officer and a charge of aggravated burglary.

State police have not yet released the name of the officer who shot Mason-Muller, 23. A news release issued by the agency in the days after the incident said the officer’s identity would not be released until interviews with those involved were completed.

The officer was placed on administrative leave.

Mason-Muller’s girlfriend made a call for a welfare check after the two had been arguing. She told dispatchers he was going to her house on N.M. 529 “to kill himself or hurt someone,” a report from the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office states.

Warning: This video contains graphic scenes of an officer-involved shooting. Viewer discretion is advised.

His girlfriend’s mother testified in a Tuesday hearing the suspect had chased her through her house, grabbing at her. She called it “unbelievable” and said she was worried for her daughter.

Dash camera footage from a Santa Fe County deputy shows the tense scene that unfolded between law enforcement officials and Mason-Muller outside the home for about 20 minutes before he was shot.

A deputy arrived at the scene to find Mason-Muller standing near the residence on the opposite side of a short stucco wall that covered his hands and lower body from view, the video shows. Mason-Muller’s girlfriend can be seen kneeling on the driveway several feet away, facing him with her hands together in a pleading gesture.

For several minutes, officers and deputies asked for Mason-Muller’s name and ordered him to show his hands, but he remained behind the wall. Mason-Muller yelled out to the officers, but his voice cannot be heard in the video. Officers said in reports that Mason-Muller was telling them to shoot him.

After he walked out from behind the stucco wall, officers noted an apparent tan-colored gun in Mason-Muller’s left hand. They repeatedly yelled for Mason-Muller to drop the object as he slowly walked to the driveway, closer to where his girlfriend was sitting.

About 20 minutes into the standoff, at least one state police officer fired at Mason-Muller, sending him to the ground.

A deputy reported hearing two shots from state police officers.

Mason-Muller’s gun did not fire, officers testified.

A supplemental report filed by a deputy who was at the scene described Mason-Muller as holding his gun in a “low ready” position. State police Officer James George Tremann also testified during a Tuesday preliminary hearing in District Court he had seen Mason-Muller hold the gun in the “low ready” position.

Tremann described the position as indicating “person establishing a stronger base” and demonstrated it by holding both hands together just above waist level. “He took a stronger firing stance more than once,” Tremann said of Mason-Muller.

After Mason-Muller was shot, his girlfriend started toward his body when a deputy yelled to her to get away.

Mason-Muller was transported to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center, in the custody of two deputies, following the shooting, according to reports from the agency.

Mason-Muller appeared on a video conference call for a preliminary hearing Tuesday from a hospital bed, but was unable to testify. The hearing was continued to later this month.

Attorney Dan Marlowe, who is representing Mason-Muller, said his client suffered a gunshot wound to his right arm.

“It looks to me like they weren’t trying to kill him,” Marlowe said, adding Mason-Muller was “in serious pain” from the injury.

Marlowe said Mason-Muller was “not a violent guy, but he’s got some mental problems.”

Fresno, California — On July 30, 2023, at 10:32 a.m., an officer with the Fresno Police Department responded to the 100 block of East Warner Avenue regarding a report of a vehicle that had been abandoned in the roadway. While the officer was in the process of having the vehicle towed, he was approached by a community member who told him that there was a young male on a scooter nearby that had a gun. The officer alerted Fresno Police dispatch of the community member’s report. As the officer drove southbound on North Effie Street, he observed a subject that matched the description of the subject reportedly armed with the gun. The officer notified dispatch, pulled to the side of the road and made contact with the subject. The officer ordered the subject, who was wearing a ski mask, to raise his hands and get down on his knees.

The subject complied, got down on his knees but then began to reach for an object in his waistband. The officer told him to raise his hands, but he continued to reach for the object. The subject pulled a gun from his waistband. Upon seeing this, the officer discharged his service weapon. The officer immediately requested paramedics and began to render first aid while they responded. The subject was transported to the hospital, he is listed in stable condition and is expected to recover from his injury. It was determined later that the subject was a 15-year-old juvenile. At the scene, the officer recovered the juvenile’s unloaded Glock 19 X .177 caliber bb pistol. The weapon is a replica of a Glock semiautomatic handgun with all Glock stampings. The juvenile was cited for PC 417.4 (brandishing an imitation firearm) and released to the custody of his guardian. The investigation into this critical incident is ongoing.