OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY COUNTY OF VENTURA JULY 9, 2014 REPORT ON THE OCTOBER 13, 2012, SHOOTINGS OF ALFONSO LIMON, JR., JUSTIN VILLA, AND JOSE ZEPEDA, JR., BY OFFICERS OF THE OXNARD POLICE DEPARTMENT GREGORY D. TOTTEN DISTRICT ATTORNEY TABLE OF CONTENTS I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................... 1 II. STATEMENT OF FACTS .................................................................................... 8 A. JOSE ZEPEDA, JR.’S, CRIMINAL HISTORY ....................................... 8 B. JUSTIN VILLA’S CRIMINAL HISTORY............................................... 8 C. TRAFFIC STOP ........................................................................................ 8 D. STANDOFF ............................................................................................. 10 E. PURSUIT ................................................................................................. 12 F. SHOOTING ............................................................................................. 14 G. ADDITIONAL POLICE RESPONSE AND INVESTIGATION ........... 34 H. WITNESS STATEMENTS ..................................................................... 35 1. GERARDO LIMON ....................................................................... 35 a. October 13, 2013, Interview ........................................................ 35 b. November 8, 2013, Interview ...................................................... 38 2. WITNESS A ................................................................................... 39 3. WITNESS B.................................................................................... 41 4. VALENTINA GARCIA ................................................................. 42 5. WITNESS C.................................................................................... 43 6. JUVENILE A .................................................................................. 43 7. JUVENILE B .................................................................................. 44 8. RAFAEL HERNANDEZ................................................................ 45 9. JUSTIN VILLA .............................................................................. 45 10. OFFICER ROSLYNN WILFERT .................................................. 46 11. SERGEANT CHRIS WILLIAMS .................................................. 49 12. OFFICER JESS ARAGON............................................................. 51 13. OFFICER JOHN BRISSLINGER .................................................. 57 14. OFFICER DONALD EHRHARDT ............................................... 61 15. OFFICER RYAN LOCKNER ........................................................ 64 16. OFFICER ROCKY MARQUEZ .................................................... 70 17. OFFICER ERNIE OROZCO .......................................................... 76 18. OFFICER PEDRO RODRIGUEZ .................................................. 80 19. OFFICER MATTHEW ROSS ........................................................ 86 20. OFFICER ZACHARY STILES ...................................................... 92 21. PARAMEDIC SUPERVISOR JEFFREY SHULTZ ...................... 94 22. PARAMEDIC DAN PETERS ........................................................ 95 23. MELISSA OLSON ......................................................................... 96 III. PHYSICAL EVIDENCE ..................................................................................... 97 A. GARFIELD AVENUE ........................................................................... 97 B. SURVEILLANCE VIDEO .................................................................... 101 C. BYSTANDER VIDEO .......................................................................... 106 D. ALFONSO LIMON, JR... ...................................................................... 109 E. JOSE ZEPEDA, JR. ............................................................................... 113 F. JUSTIN VILLA ..................................................................................... 113 IV. LEGAL PRINCIPLES ....................................................................................... 113 A. LAW OF HOMICIDE ........................................................................... 113 B. LAW OF SELF-DEFENSE ................................................................... 115 C. JOSE ZEPEDA, JR.’S CRIMINAL CONDUCT .................................. 116 D. JUSTIN VILLA’S CRIMINAL CONDUCT......................................... 116 V. ANALYSIS ........................................................................................................ 117 A. OFFICER RYAN LOCKNER ............................................................... 118 B. OFFICER PEDRO RODRIGUEZ ......................................................... 119 C. OFFICER ROCKY MARQUEZ ........................................................... 119 D. OFFICER ZACHARY STILES ............................................................. 121 E. OFFICER DONALD EHRHARDT ...................................................... 122 F. OFFICER MATTHEW ROSS ............................................................... 122 G. OFFICER JESS ARAGON.................................................................... 125 H. OFFICER JOHN BRISSLINGER ......................................................... 126 I. OFFICER ERNIE OROZCO ................................................................. 128 VI. CONCLUSION .................................................................................................. 130 ATTACHMENT ii I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY During the late evening of October 13, 2012, Oxnard police officers shot and killed Alfonso Limon, Jr., when he unwittingly walked into the middle of a running gun battle initiated by Jose Zepeda, Jr. Mr. Limon was in every sense an innocent victim, who was helpless to prevent the extraordinary and unfortunate circumstances that coalesced that evening to cause his untimely death. The role of the District Attorney in reviewing any officer-involved shooting is to determine whether the officer’s use of force was lawful. Accordingly, after a thorough investigation and review, we have concluded that the officers acted in lawful self-defense and defense of others. We acknowledge that our conclusion will offer no solace or comfort for Mr. Limon’s family given the magnitude of this tragedy and the immense loss they have suffered. However, we hope the report that follows provides a clear picture and leaves no doubt about the events and actions of all involved in the October 13, 2012, shooting death of Alfonso Limon, Jr. Events leading up to Mr. Limon’s tragic death unfolded very rapidly. At approximately 10:08 p.m., while patrolling the La Colonia area of Oxnard, Officers Pedro Rodriguez and Roslynn Wilfert observed a black two-door Chevrolet Monte Carlo driven by Rafael Hernandez, run a stop sign. Jose Zepeda, Jr., and Justin Villa were passengers in that vehicle. When officers attempted to initiate a traffic stop, Hernandez initially pulled over, but as Officer Wilfert exited her patrol car, he pulled away from the curb and a short pursuit began. Police dispatch broadcast the failure to yield and additional police officers responded to the area. The La Colonia neighborhood is known to be frequented by members of a violent street gang, “Colonia Chiques” (Colonia). Zepeda and Villa were wearing baseball caps with a “W” signifying their association with one of several “Westside” gangs who are rivals to Colonia, or “Eastside.” Almost simultaneous to the initial traffic stop, police received and broadcast a report that a person in a gray sweatshirt with a shaved head was brandishing a gun in the Colonia neighborhood. Zepeda and Villa’s presence in rival gang territory, combined with the earlier brandishing report, led officers to suspect that one or more of the occupants of the vehicle were armed and dangerous. These suspicions later proved to be correct; two loaded, operable firearms were in the vehicle at the time of the initial stop. When Hernandez pulled over a second time, Villa started to leave the vehicle but changed his mind when Officer Wilfert pointed her handgun at him and ordered him back in the vehicle. When officers ordered the driver to turn off the engine, Zepeda and Villa could be heard shouting at the driver to take off. Given this suspicious behavior, Officer Wilfert requested expedited back up via radio broadcast. By this time, numerous police officers had converged on the scene and were positioned behind the Monte Carlo with their weapons pointed at the occupants, shouting commands such as, “Show your hands!” and “Throw the keys out of the window!” Instead of complying, the occupants casually smoked cigarettes, Villa and Hernandez began speaking on their cell phones, and Zepeda counted out the number of police officers behind them and simulated shooting them with the index finger of his gloved hand. 2 Approximately 11 minutes after Hernandez pulled over for the second time, he again sped away. Officers pursued and quickly located the car pulled over to the side of the street with all its lights off. But once again the car pulled away and after another short pursuit, it suddenly stopped in the middle of the street adjacent to 136 Garfield Avenue. Zepeda and Villa quickly jumped out of the car and began to flee. When Villa tripped and fell to the ground, Zepeda jumped over him and began running. As he