More charged in shooting of Modesto officer, who is in critical but stable condition
Modesto Police Chief Brandon Gillespie said Tuesday that officer Michael Rokaitis remained in critical but stable condition after being shot over the weekend while serving a search warrant at a home.
Gillespie said the officer underwent surgery Monday evening on his leg and is expected to undergo additional surgery Wednesday. Gillespie said Rokaitis is in a Modesto hospital.
“He remains critical but stable,” Gillespie said. “... Doctors continue to monitor his vitals. His vitals have ... fluctuated over the last several days. But he has a great team around him. ... We hope and pray he makes a full recovery, but everything is still unknown right now.”
Gillespie said Rokaitis was shot twice, once in his ballistic vest and a second time below the vest in his lower abdomen. He said the gunshot injured an artery to his leg.
Gillespie said the police department appreciates the overwhelming support that has poured in over email, social media and other ways in the aftermath of the shooting.
The Modesto Police Officers Association is working with the Peace Officers Research Association of California on setting up an account to help Rokaitis and his family. The account will be on PORAC’s website under its Fund A Hero section, https://porac.org/fund-a-hero.
MPOA President Dan Starr said in an email Tuesday that this is the only official fundraising account for the officer. Starr said the MPOA has submitted the information for the account and is waiting for PORAC to approve it. He said he hopes that is soon.
Starr said once the account is up, the MPOA will promote it on social media and ask its community partners to do so as well.
Police arrested Jesse Collins James Brooks in the shooting. He was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday afternoon in Stanislaus County Superior Court on three counts of attempted murder of a peace officer, with an enhancement for using a firearm.
He also faces one charge each of being a felon in possession of a firearm and being a prohibited person in possession of ammunition.
Rokaitis, a seven-year veteran of the department, was among officers serving a warrant at a home on the 3100 block of East Orangeburg Avenue.
The warrant was served after the arrest of a motorcyclist who had led police on a chase that began around 10 p.m. Saturday. A Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department air unit spotted the man going into the home.
DA issues more charges Tuesday
The District Attorney’s Office on Tuesday charged three other defendants in the shooting.
Joshua Harrington is charged with felony evading a police officer, possession of methamphetamine for sale and transportation of a controlled substance for sale, according to a news release. Court proceedings indicate Harrington was the motorcyclist.
Katie Bible is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. She also faces an enhancement on suspicion of committing the crime while on bail in an open residential robbery case, according to the news release.
Harley Satariano is charged with attempted murder of a peace officer, according to the release, being a felon in possession of a firearm, possession of a controlled substance while in possession of a firearm and possession of a controlled substance for sale. She faces an enhancement of being armed with a firearm and possession of a controlled substance for sale.
Gillespie said the last time he can recall a Modesto officer being shot was in the late 1990s when officer Steve Silva was seriously wounded.
Silva was struck in a March 1999 gunbattle with a motorist that began with the officer trying to perform a traffic stop over an expired license plate tag, according to Bee archives.
The motorist led Silva on a short but high-speed chase that ended with the driver crashing and then opening fire on Silva. The motorist eventually surrendered to police and was sentenced to 120 years in prison in July 2000.
Gillespie said Tuesday that he expects to release a critical incident video within a couple of weeks to provide more details of what happened at the East Orangeburg Avenue home.
This story was originally published August 17, 2021 at 3:46 PM.
