Monterey Co. DA details what led to Thursday’s fatal officer-involved shooting in Salinas

The man shot and killed an early morning altercation with Salinas police Thursday had broken into his grandfather’s home and set fire to part of it using a butane torch.

Monterey County District Attorney Dean Flippo said Friday that Frank Alvarado’s relatives called 911 Thursday morning to report the incident.

Alvarado, 39, was on parole and relatives told police that he’d told them he was not going back to prison. Alvarado had served 11 years in state prison for attempted murder.

When officers arrived, Alvarado had left the house and was hiding behind a car, Flippo said. He ignored orders from police in both English and Spanish to surrender.

At one point, he lunged toward officers with an object in his hand that officers believed might have been a weapon and yelled an expletive at them. The object turned out to be a cellphone.

Flippo said investigators are still trying to confirm many of the details.

Flippo also said that two officers shot Alvarado multiple times but declined to say how many specifically. Alvarado later died at Natividad Hospital.

Alvarado’s mother, Delia Alvarado, told News Channel 5 that her son made statements about how he was not going back to prison and planned to use his cellphone to act like a weapon.

This story will be updated.