Prosecutors decline to charge deputy in fatal Victorville shooting
By Melissa Pinion Whitt on November 25, 2008 11:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |
A sheriff's deputy who shot and killed a suspected gang member in July was cleared of criminal charges Tuesday because the suspect pointed a gun at the deputy several times, prosecutors said.
San Bernardino County sheriff's Deputy Kent E. Watson feared for his safety when Ibn Rasheed Jones climbed a fence and reached for a gun he had dropped, the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office said.
"The fatal shooting of Ibn Jones was a justifiable homicide by a public officer in the performance of his duties. No reasonable jury could find otherwise," prosecutors wrote in the report.
The deputy came to 12550 Amargosa Road on July 8 because Jones, 20, of Victorville, was fighting with his former girlfriend. Prosecutors said the woman became upset when she smelled marijuana in Jones' car and that the man made money selling drugs.
Sheriff's investigators said Jones, a member of an Inglewood gang, ran from the deputy and climbed over a fence separating Amargosa and the 15 Freeway. Deputies believe he dropped a gun when he jumped down from the fence.
Jones held the gun sideways and pointed it toward the deputy, prompting the deputy to fire two times. The deputy said he believes he missed Jones. Jones continued fleeing, but continued to point the gun at the deputy.
Watson fired another three rounds at Jones, who eventually collapsed and died at the scene, prosecutors said.
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