The Antelope Valley Times

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Deputy-involved shooting in Palmdale leaves one robbery suspect dead

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PALMDALE  – One armed robbery suspect is dead and three others are in custody following a deputy-involved shooting in Palmdale Wednesday night at the end of a pursuit involving the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.

The incident began around 8:04 p.m. in Victorville, when a cellphone store was robbed by four armed males, according to a news release from the Sheriff’s Information Bureau.

“San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputies located the suspect vehicle in the unincorporated city of Adelanto and attempted to conduct a traffic stop. The suspects failed to yield, and a pursuit ensued with the suspects traveling recklessly on various highways at high rates of speed, and at times, on the wrong side of the road,” the news release states.

The pursuit ultimately ended in the area of 48th Street East at East Avenue R-8 in Palmdale after deputies initiated a pit maneuver, authorities said.

“A traffic collision occurred between the deputy and suspect vehicles… and a deputy-involved shooting occurred,” the news release states.

The shooting occurred around 8:50 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 10, in that area.

“[One] suspect was struck at least once in the torso by deputy gunfire. He was pronounced dead at the scene,” the news release states.

The three other suspects fled the vehicle into the surrounding neighborhood and were eventually taken into custody without incident, authorities said.

There is an ongoing search for the suspects’ weapons and any additional evidence related to the chase and robbery, according to the news release.

Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. To remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).

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40 comments for "Deputy-involved shooting in Palmdale leaves one robbery suspect dead"

  1. 1 King 8:32 “May you then hear from the heavens and act and judge your servants by pronouncing the wicked one guilty and bringing what he did on his own head…”

  2. Now we have these pea brains defacing a neighbors property just because their low life ‘homeboy’ lost his life nearby . Where do these people get off with so much self entitlement. This whole week our neighborhood has been putting up with these noisy bastards loitering at all hours of the night . We didn’t ask these people to bring this mess to us . They stand in the street drinking , smoking and defacing property at all hours of the night . And what are the sheriffs doing to curb this mess ? Nothing.

  3. I think the cops should have just shot out a tire or two while the pursuit was going and let the idiots roll off the road into the desert. maybe then all of them would be dead and the taxpayers wouldn’t have to support them for any time at all. and……they wouldn’t commit anymore crimes.

  4. Yes I want to Start With Thanking Law Enforcement for shooting and killing an unarmed suspect..What happened to not guilty till proven guilty by a court of law..? Also no weapons found or evidence.. Could it be A car that Police pursued because of profiling a car that was said to have robbed a phone store..Hey Lol its just like profiling all those Honda’s that they pull over for miner traffic violations..going 58 in a 55 mile zone or failed to stop at a stop sign ( Which the Honda does stop)..Oh this is a good one “You looked suspicious”.. How many cars out there resembles the suspects car…Maybe the 3 shspects hid the guns and evidence..But shouldn’t K9 be able to find evidance..?..Maybe not enough man power..7 cars show up for Supposed Domestic issue with a neighbor brandishing a gun “The police let that guy go and Tried to arrest a black man who went to a mailbox to pick up his mail and was threatened by the man with the gun..Many neibors witnessed the incident by the way so luckily they videoed with Cell phones and the black mans spouse who looks white by the way but shes actually a spanish woman videos and tells officers she wants there names and badge numbers Sge also threatens to let the Watch Commander know what has happened..which in the end nothing was provided but the blackman was let out of handcuffs and out the police vehicle Also man with gun keeps his gun..
    Either Way you Read this story..The police feel they wete correct… A a man is dead ..and the true suspects possibly got away..Also did anyone think it could have been an inside job..Usually cell phones robberies are..maybe they should see how long the people worked at the.. cell phone places

    • The good news is that the SBC Sheriff’s have released an update and say they found confirmed evidence in the car that ties to the robbery, so there’s a pretty strong case that they at least got the right guys.

  5. So if no guns were found that means that the police shot a unarmed person AGAIN. Just another day in MAGA. Very Fine police work *sarcasm*

    • We don’t know if they were searching for ‘guns’ or for ‘more guns.’ They could have shot one who was brandishing while the other three ran off…maybe…hopefully.

      Or, yeah, maybe they shot an unarmed person, AGAIN.

      We’ll have to wait and see. Sure would be nice if “well they shot him so he must have been armed” was a logical thing to say.

    • No wonder your screen name is (TimScottf4Mayor). If you took the time to read the article you would have read that the people at the cell phone company called 911 to report that they were robbed by four men with guns. Police attempted to make a traffic stop; not for a vehicle violation as Tim Scott said, but to stop the vehicle with the four men that had just robbed the cell phone store. They failed to comply. Bad things happen when people use guns to take what isn’t theirs. Their could have been more lives lost because of the choices these four men made.

      • If you took the time to read the article you would see that it makes no mention either way regarding whether the guy who was shot was armed. It mentions that they are searching for guns without specifying whether they found one on the dead guy, so are searching for MORE guns, or they didn’t find any.

        Bottom line, JUST based on the information in the article the actual events could plausibly be:

        Four armed black men robbed a store.

        A cop saw four black men in a car and said “well, maybe that’s them.”

        Four black men in a car thought “Oh boy, here we go, these cracker San Bernardino cops are at it again,” and hit the gas, figuring if it was just the usual race related harassment the cop probably wouldn’t make a big chase out of it.

        When it turned into a giant scene they were surprised and couldn’t think of a better approach than the stupid “run it out” plan.

        When that ended predictably with the cops spinning their car they knew they were really in deep, especially when a scared cop shot one of them.

        The four black guys who robbed the store and fled on foot are at home reading all about it.

        Now, I personally don’t think that is what happened, but I DID read the article and there is nothing in it to say that it didn’t. So if you are going to vent your hate based on an assumption that someone “didn’t read the article” maybe you should read it a little more carefully yourself, Alex.

        • Making up story lines to an article you’ve read? Somehow nowadays any situation turns to race… get off it dude. smh

  6. Couple questions:

    1) When they say they “attempted to conduct a traffic stop,” what does that mean? If it was a “suspect vehicle” wouldn’t they be stopping it because, well, it is a “suspect vehicle”? Isn’t a “traffic stop” something to do with a vehicle code violation?

    2) If there is an “ongoing search for the suspects’ weapons and additional evidence,” what became of the gun that made it necessary to kill one of the suspects? Do they at least have THAT gun?

      • Well, actually, there has been no trial so saying that ‘they committed a robbery’ as if it were a fact is a bit reachy. And one of them will NEVER get a trial. In a country governed by the rule of law (specifically NOT the rule of lawmen) it always amazes me that that doesn’t seem to bother so many people.

        • Rule of law? The same rule of law applies to citizens. Like the law that states you have to pull over when a cop stops you. You ever drive the 138? Doubt they stayed in their lane the whole time. I suppose the cell phone store clerks who had guns pointed at them were in on it too. Dont have to be armed to be shot. Its called objectively reasonable to believe they posed a danger to your life or the publics lives. Add up the following
          1. Victim states robbed by armed men
          2. Car matching flee’s
          3. Car maneuvers in manner that risks lives.
          4. When violenty forced yo yield they still fled on foot.
          Pretty much any action other than obeying commands of police is probably gonna get you shot at this point.

          • And you are for that shooting? There have been people shot for pulling up their pants. People shot for reaching in a bag when they had been “commanded” to show ID. Cops feel scared and shoot dogs, at dogs and kill bystanders, shoot people who are flagging them down because they didn’t “drop the weapon” as commanded for the very simple reason that they didn’t have one and weren’t aware that they needed one to drop when they called 911.

            If this dude hopped out of the wreck with a gun in his hand and got shot to pieces for it, great. If the only reason he got shot while the others ran is because the wreck hurt him so bad that he fell out of the car and some cop got scared, not great. I have no idea what happened, so I’ll be a bit late to the “congrats to our great LEOs” party, myself, but you do what you want.

          • Not congratulating them, but you doubt every police shooting. Which is fine and some doubt and scrutiny keeps the system in check. But when you use almost every police shooting to cast doubt on police it makes you look like a cop hater. Again even if he was unarmed look at what verifiably happened. Because a gun may not have been recovered changes what? Cops have every reason to believe they are dealing with armed suspects who didnt want to go to jail. Theres how many miles of the 138 that they could have tossed a gun.

          • If you notice I merely asked whether there was a gun. I agree, there are miles of road they could have thrown their guns out on. I also agreed when someone said they would have been the dumbest criminals ever if they did NOT throw them out somewhere along the line. Does “well at one time he had a gun so I got scared and shot him when he came out of the car empty handed” sound like something to applaud? And please note I’m still not saying that happened, just that no one has said it didn’t…yet the applause is absolutely thunderous. I get sniped at steadily for “not waiting for the facts.” Where are all those snipers now?

        • Tim, not trying to snipe you. Study the law and it explains that cops dont have to be right all the time. That is why I said objectively reasonable. Thats a true legal standard. Yes a cop can shoot someone because they are scared. Yes them being armed at one point in time is part of a valid justification for a use of deadly force. Courts recognize police make split second decisions based on limited info. Not all police shootings are justified, but not every police shooting id unjustified either. Read countless court decisions where police make the wrong decision. The number one factor is the facts leading up to the shooting that caused the officer to fear for their life. That is why it is hugely important for people to comply with an officers requests. Every action taken on both sides is scrutinized. In this case the suspects checked off a lot of boxes that justify a reasonable person to fear for their life. Short of the guy throwing his hands up and saying I give up he pretty much signed his life away to the feelings of someone else. Its unfortunate that a life was taken. Both for the suspect and the officer who has to live with taking someones life

          • Oh, I have not the slightest doubt that this will be a “clean shoot” and the deputy will be right back on the job. I am aware of the legal standards. We see them at play all the time.

            And as a society we apparently tolerate it.

          • I believe society “tolerates” it because 99.999% of people dont get shot by police. Because for example in 2012 there were 12.2 million arrests and 410 uses of deadly force or .00003%. Factor in all police contacts and that percent becomes insanely small. That doesnt mean each shooting shouldnt be individually scrutinized. And to concede a point to you, law enforcement needs to do a better job of releasing facts sorrounding law enforcement shootings at the conclusion of the investigation. But I am unsure how much the media will cover the minutiae necessary to paint a full picture

          • Yeah. I’m actually not as concerned about shootings as it probably appears. I get caught up in the drama that comes along with them like everyone else, but the reality is that the day to day thuggery is far more significant in the long run.

            It seems frivolous to switch to this but it’s one of the great illustrations, because a joke has to strike at a touchstone of pure truth for people to get it and literally everyone gets this joke I tell.

            Just how much does the department save by special ordering all the cars with the turn signals left out?

            You’d be amazed how many people respond with something like “they do?” after a short snort of a laugh. It hits such a truth that it almost seems true itself, because practically no member of the general public, or cop for that matter, has ever seen a cop use a turn signal.

            Shootings are really so rare that you can make the point you did…hardly anyone is affected. But cops driving illegally, parking illegally, playing their machismo games that people let them win only because of their badges; that’s the constant stench of ‘above the law’ that wedges them off from society.

        • I agree that sometimes police dont do themselves any favors in the public opinion department. But perspective is everything… Let me pose something to you. You pull up to a fast food place and see a cop car parked illegally. You probably think what an arrogant cop. But… Maybe the cop is inside on a call and knows he may have to bring a suspect back to his car or may need to run information or obtain paperwork for the call. Or maybe the car is viewed as a vital tool that needs to be close to where you are in the event that oh I dont know maybe some random guy walks up and stabs you in the chest like earlier this week in Santa Clarita. If I had a stab wound I sure would like to be real close to my car where my radio and first aid kit are. None of this is to say that any of the above justifies illegaly parking but perspective is everything. The analogy I use is panhandling. I used to hate it because I hated being accosted every time I go out. Then I thought about it a little deeper and realized that yes some are scammers but for many how degrading must it be to wander around asking for money.

          • Coincidentally I did see a cop car parked illegally outside a fast food place not all that long ago. When I went in he was standing in line. I guess I should be thankful that he didn’t badge his way to the front.

            In his defense he had originally parked there responding to a crash in the shopping center parking lot. Not in his defense his car was not only illegally parked, but the way it was blocking a main traffic lane through the parking lot it’s sort of surprising it didn’t cause at least one more collision by the time he got back to it.

            There was a time I’d have said something nasty to the guy, but this was not long after I met with a cop who contacted me on here and I had sort of turned over a new leaf in my approach to police reform.

      • Blaming them for what, Ron? What is there to blame them for?

        IF the answers to the questions I asked include something that might need to be blamed on someone, maybe I’ll blame them for something. Are you saying there might be something there that needs to be blamed on someone? I haven’t seen any answers to my questions, so I don’t have anything, but if you have answers please share.

        • Tim, If a 911 call comes In from the store saying they were robbed by four males at gunpoint, then a description of the vehicle goes out, there’s enough probable cause to believe that the men are armed.

          At some point while they were fleeing and I could have tossed any weapons out of the car. They were still fleeing when the deputies initiated a traffic stop. They then drove 30 to 40 miles without stopping until the deputies initiated the pit maneuver.

          Whether or not they had a gun on them it’s irrelevant. If they were armed at the time they started the robbery AND made any kind of motions after fleeing AND eventually crashed by the cops it’s absolutely reasonable if they would get shot.

          Go ahead and hand wring whether your fellow bottom feeders rights were violated and completely disregard that they put a gun and some innocent shop owners face, endangered citizens fleeing arrest, and earned anything that they got once forcefully stopped.

          • That was sort of the point of the question. What led to them shooting the guy? Did he have a gun and the three who ran into the neighborhood didn’t by the time they were caught? If so, searching the neighborhood, to me, is a very high priority since some kid could be finding a gun on their way home from school today. If not, then he probably threw it out into jackrabbit territory and that would suggest his mates did too.

            But thanks for taking another opportunity to make sweeping arrogant statements about everyone that doesn’t live on your block, you prig.

    • Stupid [removed] question. Stupid. They had guns when they robbed the cell phone store in Victorville. Possibly they ditched them while being chased to Palmdale. Even the dumbest criminal out there realizes you don’t want to get caught with a gun – even though I am sure they were all licensed to carry and cleared background, and had the wait period, I did. Too bad someone died, but now at least all of them will get with a murder 1 charge. Unless they can use prop 57 to plead it down to a shop lifting and joy riding charge.

      • So, if “even the dumbest criminal” would have ditched the gun somewhere out in the desert, shouldn’t “even the dumbest cop” recognize that they likely are unarmed by the time they crash, so unless the guy was actively brandishing a gun was shooting him really necessary?

        I’m not opposed to shooting people who are brandishing firearms (no offense, not even if they are licensed to carry and cleared a background check). I just asked if in this case they recovered any guns, or if this is gonna be one of those “well, yeah, he staggered out of the wreck but I’m such a rabbit that fearing for my life I emptied my clip at him” cases.

    • More food for thought. .71% of people admitted to the hospital die from medical errors. 1.3 million a year die in roadway crashes. If car makers just built a racing style roll cage or made it so a car wouldnt start without the seatbelt being properly worn, or if every car had a breathalyzer…. We accept risk every day, we also accept that when we try to “solve problems” or advance our society we mitigate certain things but exacerbate other things.

    • Tim Scott. Were you there? Were you in the store? Were you in the officers car? Were you standing in front of the suspects, doing your job as a deputy? If not they stop the suppositions and go with the facts of the article. A man was shot, possibly after commiting a crime of robbery with 3 other men. You do not know if one of the men in the car pulled a gun before he left the scene of the shooting. I get tired of people making suppositions and not letting the detectives and deputies do their job.

      • So, why are you not castigating all the people supposing that “our heroic deputies faced down a dangerous gunman” and celebrating the imposition of the death penalty without benefit of trial? The article, and even the update from the SBCS office, have not claimed that the dead suspect actually had a gun at the time of the shooting.

        Where were you when the first posted comment celebrated “saving our streets” when at that point the article really left some big questions about whether these were even the same guys as had robbed the store in the first place? Why weren’t you on that person’s case about “waiting for the facts”?

        I get tired of badge lickers rushing to be first to get their lips on some deputy butt without waiting for any facts at all.

    • Have you ever thought who the random journalist is writing this article? They get very basic info and write it the way the want it to sound good. Your wasting your time getting so deep with these thoughts and situations, your speculating what happened. Let’s leave it to the sheriffs to do their job and act upon a situation as necessary to preserve a larger number of life and property.

  7. It is very sad when a young person loses their life over a stupid decision they made, or their buddy made, and they decided to go along. Stay away from stupid people, stay away from stupid decisions. Put your efforts into anything else and you will be fine. It might go slow, but it will go. Have the passion and heart to succeed and you will. Make a stupid decision, and you can die.

    • Yes thank you Law Enforcement.Yes thank you Law Enforcement.We appreciate what you do.We appreciate what you do.You have a hard job.You have a hard job.But Rex makes it harder.But Rex makes it harder.How does he make it harder?How does he make it harder?By wasting tax dollars on LEAPS.By wasting tax dollars on LEAPS.We need more boots on the ground not LEAPS.We need more boots on the ground not LEAPS.We spend $90,000.00 a month on LEAPS.We spend $90,000.00 a month on LEAPS.For what?For what?To catch Wal Mart shoplifters.To catch Wal Mart shoplifters.Let Wal Mart pay for its own security.Let Wal Mart pay for its own security.$90,000.00 a month is $1,800,000.00 a year.$90,000.00 a month is $1,800,000.00 a year.For ten years.For ten years.That is $10,800,000.00.That is $10,800,000.00.Which could pay for a lot of Sherriffs.Which could pay for a lot of Sherriffs.Instead of paying Rex’s political pal.Instead of paying Rex’s political pal.No to LEAPS.No to LEAPS.Yes to Sherriffs.Yes to Sherriffs.More boots on the ground.More boots on the ground.No to LEAPS.No to LEAPS.