Prosecutors: Modesto police officers acted lawfully in shootout with armed Merced men
Prosecutors have determined that three Modesto police officers fired their guns lawfully at two armed suspects who have since been convicted and sentenced for the 2015 shootout.
The police officers involved in the shootout were Sgt. Lance Nicolai and officers Glenn Graves and Daniel Starr. The shootout occurred May 31, 2015, just east of downtown Modesto near the Starbucks after a volley of gunfire erupted at the end of a police chase.
Juan Tinoco, Steven Vasquez and Andrew Hernandez, all from Merced, were in the fleeing car that crashed at the end of the chase. Authorities said Tinoco and Vasquez got out of the wrecked car and fired guns at police.
“Once the suspects’ car was stopped and occupants began shooting at the officers, the officers returning fire was reasonable and legally justified in self-defense and in the course of their duties,” according to a letter from the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office to the Modesto Police Chief Galen Carroll.
Prosecutors on Wednesday released their findings on the police shooting. They said in their letter to the police chief that the information about the reported crime would have led any reasonable officer to be placed in fear of armed suspects.
In June, Tinoco was sentenced to three consecutive life terms in prison. He pleaded no contest to three counts of attempted murder of a police officer, along with the gun enhancement. On Friday, Tinoco, 28, was serving his sentence at Salinas Valley State Prison. He will become eligible for early parole in November 2034 because of the state’s Youthful Offender Act.
Vasquez pleaded no contest to assault with a gun on a police officer. He was sentenced to six years in prison for the shooting.
Prosecutors said the fact Tinoco and Vasquez have admitted guilt establishes the officers’ actions were justified.
Hernandez was arrested with the other suspects, but prosecutors later dropped all charges against him. Authorities said there is no evidence Hernandez fired at police. He was the only person who remained in the car after the chase.
Tinoco was the only person injured in the shootout. He was hospitalized and treated for his wounds before he was booked at the Stanislaus County Jail a few days after the shooting. The three men were inside a Toyota Camry that sped away from police officers that night.
At about 11:20 p.m., police responded to reports of a fight involving several people at the taco trucks near Eighth and H streets. Dispatchers told officers the suspects were spotted lifting their shirts to display guns in their waistbands.
Officers spotted a car matching the witness description and tried to pull it over, but the Camry sped away. A police pursuit ensued and continued to Downey Avenue near 19th Street in downtown Modesto.
In a May 2016 preliminary hearing, Nicolai testified that the chase ended when a patrol car intentionally hit the Camry, forcing the car into a spin before it hit a curb. The impact lifted the car momentarily onto two wheels before it crashed down.
Prosecutors said suspects speeding away from police only heightened the officers’ fears, so it was appropriate for police to force the Camry into a spin to get it to stop.
When the car crashed against the curb, police said, Tinoco got out and began to fire at officers. Vasquez, later identified as the driver, also got out and fired at the officers.
Nicolai said in court that Tinoco was running and stumbling away from the Camry, before he fell and got up, firing two more shots at police. Then Tinoco collapsed near Johnson Street. Prosecutors said a .40 caliber handgun was found next to him, and a loaded .357 Ruger revolver was found inside the Camry.
Two shots from the suspects hit Graves’ patrol car, going through a bumper and hitting a wheel. Those were direct shots from the suspects, according to police. Another shot skipped off the ground and struck the grill on Nicolai’s patrol car.