Video: Deputy fatally shoots man armed with pellet gun without any commands to drop weapon
RIVERSIDE, Calif. - The Riverside County District Attorney's Office is investigating a fatal shooting involving a deputy in San Jacinto.
On Friday, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department released video of the Oct. 31 shooting that left a man armed with a pellet gun dead. The deceased was later identified as Juan Beltran Sanchez.
According to the sheriff's department, deputies responded to a call reporting that a man was inside a business with a handgun before leaving on a bicycle.
The caller stated, "There's a customer with a gun inside the store. He's not threatening nobody. He's in the aisle paying, but he called my assistant manager and he showed her he had a gun."
Deputies were already in the area for an unrelated incident and saw a subject matching the description of the man, riding a bicycle northbound on South San Jacinto Avenue. The sheriff's department said that deputies instructed him to get off his bicycle, at which point he produced what they believed at the time was a handgun.
Pellet gun found on Juan Beltran Sanchez. (Credit: RCSO)
The video shows the deputy immediately open fire on the suspect – without any command to drop his weapon.
Sanchez, a 52-year-old San Jacinto resident, was pronounced deceased at the scene. The weapon he brandished was identified as a 1911-style pellet gun.
Juan Beltran Sanchez. (Credit: RCSO)
"Multiple investigations have commenced, led by the Riverside County District Attorney's Office, with support from the Sheriff's Force Investigations Detail and Central Homicide Unit," Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said in the video. "The inquiry will scrutinize Sanchez's actions and the circumstances surrounding the shooting. Internal reviews will also be conducted to assess deputies' adherence to department policies and training standards."
Sheriff Bianco emphasized the department's commitment to de-escalation and expressed gratitude for the community's attention to this matter.