Monterey County DA: “We don’t want to rush to judgment” in police shooting

UPDATE: 2/8/2019 10 a.m. The Salinas Police Department has released the names of the officers involved in a shooting with

PREVIOUS STORY: (4:00 P.M. 2/4/19):

The Monterey County District Attorney says the suspect shot by Salinas Police Friday night is expected to be in court on Tuesday.

Guadalupe Aguirre Espinoza is accused of brandishing a replica firearm inside the Safeway off Constitution Boulevard. Police confronted Espinoza in the parking lot. SPD spokesperson Officer Miguel Cabrera tells KION that Espinoza wasn’t cooperating, and appeared to be reaching for something – that is when officers fired, because of previous reports that he was armed. It was later determined the gun was a fake.

The Monterey County District Attorney’s office expects to release at least part of the police body camera video on Friday.

“We don’t want to rush to judgment. We want to examine every piece of it to make sure they get their fair day,” District Attorney Jeannine Pacioni said.

PREVIOUS REPORT:

Salinas Police have released the name of the suspect in an officer involved shooting.

The suspect is 38-year-old Guadalupe Aguirre Espinoza.

He was in the hospital after the shooting, but was released and booked into the Monterey County Jail on charges of brandishing a replica weapon, probation violation and meth posession.

His bail is set at $1 million.

In a Facebook post early Sunday morning, the Salinas Police Department wrote that dispatchers received a call about a man pointing a gun at customers, at the Safeway on Constitution Boulevard. Five officers responded to the scene.

Maldonado says officers opened fire because they believed Espinoza was reaching for a gun. That “gun” was later determined to be fake.