Fatal Modesto police shooting in May 2020 was justified, Stanislaus DA says
The Stanislaus County district attorney’s office has determined two Modesto police officers were legally justified in fatally shooting a man who pointed what appeared to be a handgun at them in May 2020.
The office put out a news release and a letter to interim Police Chief Brandon Gillespie on Thursday that summarized its review of the May 25, 2020, shooting near Orangeburg and Enslen avenues at about 9:30 p.m.
The weapon turned out to be a BB gun that looked like a handgun. Officers John Carrico and Ryan Owens fired upon Modesto resident Reymar Gagarin, 35.
Modesto police have said that Gagarin had told people he wanted to get into a high-speed chase with police and use a fake gun to make officers shoot him.
But Gagarin’s sister said in a Thursday phone interview that police were not justified in firing upon her brother eight times. She asked that her name not be published.
“This is bull----,” she said. “... That was my baby brother. He was just so sweet and had a big heart, and now his children have to grow up without their dad. ... And my mom does not have her baby anymore.”
The District Attorney’s Office letter states Gagarin had admitted himself at Doctors Behavioral Health Center and had been released five days before being shot by officers. He had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and prescribed medication but had stopped taking it because it made his face twitch.
The letter states Gagarin’s sister provided this information. The sister said “Gagarin was hearing voices and was talking about killing himself in different ways,” according to the letter.
“Gagarin’s sister said he was going to hang himself or was going to speed and get caught by the police and shot,” according to the letter. “She said Gagarin had suffered from depression since he had been using drugs. Gagarin had said that people are out to get him.”
Struggles with depression, mental health
Gagarin’s sister confirmed in the Thursday phone interview that her brother had recently struggled with depression and mental health issues just before being shot by police. She said she was the one who checked him at Doctors Behavioral Health Center.
She said he never talked about hanging himself.
The letter states Gagarin had methamphetamine in his system but does not state how much. The letter states there were no other drugs in his system.
Gagarin did not have a record in Stanislaus County. The Superior Court website shows he was cited for speeding in 2008 and 2016. There are no other records for him.
Carrico and Owens were in the same patrol car the night of the shooting. Owens was a trainee, and Carrico was his field training officer. Owens was driving.
The letter states they were stopped at a red light at Orangeburg and Enslen avenues when Gagarin got out of his car and approached them and pointed a handgun at them. Owens drove through the intersection and made a U-turn to get some distance from Gagarin.
Gagarin got back in his car and drove toward the officers before getting out a second time.
The letter states he pointed a handgun as he walked toward the officers. The officers got out of their car and fired upon him. Owens said he believed Gagarin was trying to kill him and Carrico, according to the letter, adding it “shook him up” to have a gun pointed at him.
Tragedy for officers and man’s family
Then-Police Chief Galen Carroll called the incident a tragedy for the two officers and Gagarin’s family.
The sister said she and her brother and other family members originally are from Guam. She said he was among the first family members to come to Modesto, about a dozen years ago. She said he later earned his GED and trained as an auto mechanic. She said he then worked as a mechanic.
She said her brother leaves behind his longtime girlfriend and mother of his two children, his parents and a brother.
“He was all about his kids,” she said. “He was a devoted family man.”
Modesto is facing calls from some community members to create a civilian oversight panel for its Police Department as cities across the nation, including Modesto, examine the role of the police in their communities.
The city is embarking on a citywide conversation regarding its Police Department and will form a committee to look at potential reforms to improve police-community relations and how officers do their jobs.
This story was originally published May 7, 2021 at 4:00 AM.
