Modesto PD video: Officers fired 52 rounds in fatal shooting of suspect near mall
Four Modesto police officers fired a total of 52 rounds in the March 17 fatal shooting of suspect Jimmy Lee Rupe, newly released video shows.
The Modesto Police Department posted footage from officers’ body-worn cameras on Thursday, April 24. They had responded to a tip that Rupe, 40, was inside Max Muscle Sports Nutrition on Dale Road.
Rupe had multiple warrants in cases involving firearms and lewd acts with a child, police said at the time. He died of his injuries at a local hospital.
Rupe fired at the officers with an illegal 9-mm handgun, Police Chief Brandon Gillespie said during the 42-minute video compilation. Three shell casings and an ammunition magazine were recovered, he said.
The case remains under investigation by MPD and the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office. Gillespie said the shots were fired by Sgt. Jair Oaxaca and officers Eric Garcia-Martinez, Jacob Christopher and Christian Monez.
No officers or bystanders were injured, Gillespie said. Police had evacuated the building, which also houses the Velvet Grill & Creamery. Trader Joe’s and other businesses are in the complex, and Vintage Faire Mall is across Dale.
“The Modesto Police Department values the sanctity of human life,” Gillespie says in the video. “We recognize that incidents like this are tragic and deeply impactful for everyone involved — our officers, the families and our community.”
‘He’s not going quietly,’ owner recalls
Max Muscle owner Brian Sherwood described the encounter in an interview with The Modesto Bee the next day. He said Rupe was a regular customer and had heard that police were trying to arrest him. Sherwood said the suspect went to a room at the rear and “made it clear he wasn’t coming out ... and so I told the cops he’s not coming out and he’s not going quietly.”
The owner said he made sure no one else was in the store and advised the first two officers to wait for backup. Gillespie said the two had arrived at 1:08 p.m. Police then called in the other officers, one of them with a K-9, and a crisis negotiator.
The video narrative says Rupe fired his weapon at the officers while they were stationed at the front door with handguns and at least one rifle. They carried bullet-resistant shields.
The suspect cannot be seen in the bodycam footage because he was behind a counter and display cases. The audio does indicate that he was armed.
“Drop the gun! Drop the gun!” an officer says at one point. “Hands all the way up, dude” can be heard as well.
Shots were fired over nine minutes
Gillespie says the shots were fired over about nine minutes. The video does not show Rupe until he is being detained by officers at the rear of the store. They begin tending to his wounds, which are blurred out, while waiting for paramedics. Details on the location of the wounds were not available.
MPD is doing two investigations. One is a criminal probe into Rupe’s actions. The other is on whether officers followed department policy on the use of force. The DA’s Office will determine separately whether any officers should be prosecuted.
The case also will get a look from the city’s Community Police Review Board, established in 2023 and advised by a law firm based near Los Angeles. It cannot discipline officers but does suggest ways to improve MPD.
This story was originally published April 25, 2025 at 1:33 PM.
