Prosecutors: Modesto police officers used reasonable deadly force in Turlock drug bust
Prosecutors have determined that two Modesto police officers acted in self-defense or in the defense of others two years ago when they shot a 21-year-old man during a drug bust in Turlock.
Omar Villagomez, of Tulare County, was shot to death on June 7, 2016, by Modesto police Sgt. Alex Bettis and Officer Joseph Lamantia, the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office announced in a news release Friday.
Prosecutors said the officers fired their guns when Villagomez rammed an undercover police vehicle in an attempt to escape.
The District Attorney’s Office review of the shooting determined that Bettis and Lamantia reasonably used deadly force to prevent the escape of a dangerous suspect, according to an April 2 letter to the police chiefs in Modesto and Turlock.
“Villagomez sped off when he saw the approaching police vehicles and officers in raid gear. He rammed one vehicle and drove towards another,” according to the letter from prosecutors. “Villagomez’s reckless conduct during his attempt to escape demonstrated that he was a serious threat to the safety of others.”
The deadly shooting occurred in the parking lot that serves a multiplex theater, a poker room, restaurants and other businesses at West Main Street between North Walnut and North Kilroy roads. Authorities have said Stanislaus Drug Enforcement Agency investigators set up a drug-buy in the parking lot. Villagomez and his passenger, Juan Sostenes Bulgara, were seated in a Nissan Altima.
Prosecutors said the undercover investigators negotiated a $120,000 purchase price for 40 pounds of methamphetamine, and Villagomez was identified as a suspected meth trafficker. SDEA investigators and SWAT officers had surrounded the area in anticipation of the arrests.
The investigators planned to box-in the suspects’ car, and uniformed police officers would get out of their unmarked vehicles and arrest the suspects.
Once the undercover investigators walked up to the Nissan and confirmed the meth had been delivered, they gave the “bust” signal to the other investigators and walked away, according to prosecutors.
Lamantia was in a truck that moved toward the front of the Nissan. He told investigators that Villagomez “looked mad” as he put the car in reverse. When the officers moved in to arrest the suspects, Villagomez backed the Nissan into one of the other unmarked police sport utility vehicles, according to authorities.
The prosecutors said the Nissan then sped forward. Lamantia then fired his gun, telling investigators he saw Villagomez ram the SUV, possibly injured the officers inside the vehicle and speeding forward to endanger others.
The Nissan struck a parked vehicle across from where Lamantia was. The Nissan’s airbags then deployed. Prosecutors said the Nissan rolled backward and was struck by a third police vehicle to stop it from moving.
Video footage shows smoke from the deployed airbags coming out of the Nissan. Prosecutors said the smoke gave the appearance of gunfire coming from the Nissan, so Bettis fired his gun at the car believing that officers were in danger.
The officers then backed away, took up defense positions and created a plan to approach the suspects. Within a few minutes, the officers removed Villagomez and Bulgara from the Nissan. Inside the car, the investigators found 15 pounds of meth and a stolen 9 mm Glock handgun.
Bulgara suffered superficial injuries during the crash, mainly from flying debris. Prosecutors said Bulgara was convicted of drug charges in federal court on April 9 and is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 17.
Lamantia has reportedly been involved in three fatal officer-involved shootings — one in 2010 and the other also in 2016 — in the past seven years. Bettis has been involved in two, both in 2016.
Both also were among the officers involved in a 2016 incident where a man who had been terrorizing homes on Modesto’s Grantland Court died a few days after being subdued and arrested by officers using control holds, beanbag guns and a Taser.
In all of the incidents, the use of force by the officers was deemed justified, according to the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s office.
This story was originally published July 14, 2018 at 3:20 PM with the headline "Prosecutors: Modesto police officers used reasonable deadly force in Turlock drug bust."