Investigators have identified a San Diego police officer and an allegedly fleeing suspect involved in a shooting near a Morena riverbed last week, sheriff’s officials said.
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Officer Johnathan Penuelas fired his weapon while reportedly chasing after Judah Starr McBreairty, 44, on a bike path adjacent to Pacific Highway near the San Diego River around 9:45 a.m. June 30, sheriff’s Lt. Aloha Peters said.
It was not immediately clear if McBreairty was injured during the incident, but investigators said at the time that they did not believe he had been struck by gunfire.
Penuelas has been with the department for three years and is assigned as a patrol officer at Western Division.
Sheriff’s homicide detectives are investigating the shooting under the terms of a countywide agreement that says agencies will not investigate shootings involving their own officers.
Peters said that on the day of the shooting, officers on an abatement detail came across a man who had a no-bail warrant and was considered a parolee at large. The man allegedly ran away from the officers.
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Additional officers were called, and the man, later identified as McBreairty, was located, Peters said. He tried to run away again and officers pursued him on foot.
At some point during the foot chase, Penuelas opened fire, Peters said. McBreairty then retreated into the riverbed, and SWAT officers were called in to assist with the search, as were members of the Police Department’s Emergency Negotiation Team.
After McBrearity was found once again, an hours-long standoff occurred while negotiators attempted to speak with him, Peters said.
The standoff ended when a K9 unit was deployed and McBreairty was taken into custody, Peters said. He was booked in San Diego jail on suspicion of a felony parole violation.
Details about the circumstances leading up to the shooting were not immediately available Monday.
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