Salinas man accused of stealing vehicle with dogs inside, firing gun during traffic stop

SALINAS, Calif. (KION)

UPDATE 5/25/2021 3:30 p.m. The Monterey County District Attorney's Office has released the identity of a suspect who was part of an officer-involved shooting in Salinas Monday.

The DA's Office said 41-year-old Salinas resident Scott Lewis DelCastillo was in a vehicle that broke down on Highway 1 near Canyon Del Rey in Seaside. He briefly left the vehicle, and when he returned, he reportedly saw a CHP officer impounding it for false registration tabls.

DelCastillo allegedly ran away and to a nearby Shell station. At the station, a woman was in the convenience store and left her vehicle running with her two Chihuahua dogs inside. She also kept a loaded semiautomatic handgun in the vehicle. The DA's Office said DelCastillo got into her vehicle and drove away.

OnStar tracked the location of the vehicle, and later CHP and Salinas police officers found it and conducted a traffic stop near Rossi and North Main in Salinas.

The DA's Office said DelCastillo reached out of the driver's side window and fired two gunshots, and officers returned fire. DelCastillo and the dogs were not hit by the gunfire. After that, officers were able to take DelCastillo into custody.

The owner of the vehicle told police that she kept a fully loaded clip in her gun without a round in the chamber, and when investigators found it, two rounds were missing.

UPDATE: 5/24/21 10:24 P.M. Police are continuing to work into the night for their ongoing investigation.

KION spoke to one man who was working nearby when he heard the multiple gunshots fired.

"You heard the gunshots, and I was working in that area towards the church over there and then you heard this car peeling out and that's pretty much what I heard. It was so close that it felt like someone was shooting in that direction," said David Diaz.

According to the Assistant Chief of Salinas Police, Roberto Filice, said the suspect took aim at law enforcement.

"It appears that the suspect shot at our officers and our officers returned fire," said Filice.

Police says there was only one suspect that was involved and they were apprehended.

"No officers were injured and the suspect was not injured. He was taken into custody without incident and we recovered the weapon," said Filice.

The assistant chief tells KION that due to protocol, the investigation has been turned over to the district attorney to ensure this officer-involved shooting was justified.

UPDATE: 5/24/21 7:05 P.M. The Salinas Police Department is reporting that no officers or suspects were injured in an officer-involved shooting that unfolded at around 4 p.m. Investigators are still along the 100 block of Rossi Street gathering evidence.

The incident, according to police, involved a stolen Ford truck. The suspect is said to have fired at police officers first as they were trying to stop the driver.

UPDATE: 5/24/21 5:55 P.M. Salinas Police investigators are reporting there is no death as a result of an officer-involved shooting near the Chinatown area of Salinas Monday afternoon.

The Monterey County District Attorney's Office says they're leading the investigation and are responding to the scene.

Much of the area along 30 East Rossi Street is blocked off after the incident with multiple agencies responding to the call late Monday afternoon.

KION's Stephanie Aceves is at the scene and working to get more information. She'll have updates throughout the night and on KION News at 11 p.m. as well as the CW at 10 p.m.

ORIGINAL STORY:

The Monterey County Sheriff's Office confirmed with KION that there was an officer-involved shooting in Salinas Monday afternoon involving California Highway Patrol officers.

The Sheriff's Office said the incident started on Rossi and moved into the Chinatown area.

This is a breaking news story. Keep checking back for updates.