Monterey County Deputies who shot, killed break-in suspect identified

SALINAS, Calif. (KION-TV) -- The Monterey County District Attorney's Office identified the two deputies who fired shots at man who they say forced his way into a home with a knife.

Acting Sgt. David Gonzalez and Deputy Cristian Ivan Pantoja were two of the four deputies responding to the scene.

Sgt. Gonzales and Deputy Pantoja, according to the D.A. were the only ones who fired shots at the suspect who was previously identified as 25-year-old Anthony Tovar.

The D.A. also provided a photo of the knife in Tovar's possession when he was killed by the sheriff's office staff.

Gonzalez has 16 years of experience as a police officer and has been with the sheriff's office since October 2015.

Pantoja has been with the sheriff's Office since March 2019.

The D.A. said Tovar forced his way into a home holding a knife and barricaded himself in a room with a mother and her 2-year-old child prior to being killed by deputies.

DA: Man killed by deputies on Hyland Drive barricaded himself with a mother and her toddler

SALINAS, Calif. (KION-TV) - The Monterey County District Attorney's Office has shared the name of the man shot and killed by deputies, who they say forced his way into a home with a knife.

The district attorney's office said deputies with the Monterey County Sheriff's Office received a 911 call at around 9:30 p.m. that occurred Tuesday night in the Boronda area of an unknown man forcing his way into a home.

A man, later identified as 25-year-old Anthony Tovar, had allegedly come to a man's home door. The man answered the door and Tovar forced his way in, pulled out a knife, and went to the eating area near the front of the residence where the man's wife and two-year-old daughter were, per the DA's office.

Tovar then grabbed the wife and daughter and forced them into a room in the back of the 1,000-square-foot home. The bedroom was very small, with a full-sized bed, a dresser next to the bed, and just enough room to walk in front of the bed said the district attorney's office.

The suspect then barricaded the door and began to undress the mother. The mother resisted, screamed and tried to protect her daughter, per the Monterey County District Attorney's Office.

The husband proceeded to call 911 and deputies arrived within four minutes. They then kicked the door open.

Two deputies then fired four rounds that hit Tovar in the torso, one bullet hit him in the heart and one hit him in the lung and he died almost immediately, said the district attorney's office.

KION asked if the two victims in the room were in the deputies' line of fire. The DA's office said they were unsure of that detail but added "It was a small room. I don't think these shots were fired at a great distance at all. Deputies fired four shots and four shots hit the suspect in the torso."

This information was gathered from witness statements and responding deputies' statements on what occurred. The Monterey County District Attorney's Office will now determine if a crime was committed by a deputy.

Four deputies were put on leave; two for shooting at Tovar and two for witnessing the shooting said the Monterey County Sheriff's Office.

Four deputies on paid administrative leave after deadly shooting along Hyland Drive in Salinas

UPDATE AUGUST 10, 2023, at 5:10 p.m.- The Monterey County District Attorney's Office said they are investigating a deputy-involved shooting that resulted in the death of a man armed with a knife.

The district attorney's office says four deputies are on paid administrative leave, as is the protocol for deputy-involved shootings. The Monterey County Sheriff's Office says two of their deputies fired at the suspect.

The Monterey County Sheriff's Office does not use body cameras and there were no cameras inside the home at the time of teh incident, said the district attorney's office.

Interviews are pending and this is an ongoing investigation.

Man dies in Monterey County deputy-involved shooting along Hyland Drive in Salinas

The Monterey County District Attorney's Office is investigating a deadly deputy-involved shooting in Salinas.

The sheriff's office says they received a 9-1-1 call Tuesday night about a man armed with a knife in their home along Hyland Drive.

Multiple Monterey County deputies arrived on the scene at which point they say they encountered a man armed with a knife.

The man was then "engaged" and was shot by deputies at the scene.

The sheriff's office says the man died at the scene and no deputies were injured.

We're working to find out additional information on this developing story