Previous posts HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE
Could the charges get any more diluted? This shooting was nothing if it wasn't an attempted execution and should have been charged as "attempted murder." But I guess anything is better than what I expected, which was nothing. My advice to the Carrion family is to get out of the county as fast as possible because the backlash from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department will be brutal and constant, although you can bet that it will also be subtle so that the family will have a hard time proving actual police harassment.
The announcement was made at a 10:00 AM news conference. Updates as soon as they are available.
From Daily Bulletin:
Sheriff deputy charged with manslaughter in Chino airman shooting
The sheriff's deputy caught on videotape shooting an unarmed man following a high-speed chase in Chino Jan. 29 will face one count of attempted voluntary manslaughter, San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos announced this morning.
San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy Ivory J. Webb is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in San Bernardino Superior Court. He could face up to 18 years in prison if convicted on the manslaughter charge, which included enhancements for causing great bodily injury and for using a firearm.
Webb, 45, an eight-year veteran of the sheriff's department, pulled over a blue Corvette driven by Luis Fernando Escobedo following a high-speed chase through Chino the night of Jan. 29. Elio Carrion, an Air Force senior airman, was a passenger in the Corvette.
In a videotape made by a resident, Carrion is seen face-down on the pavement after apparently being ordered out of the car following the traffic stop. In a scene replayed countless times on TV news programs across the county, Webb is then seen firing at Carrion after giving what sounds like an order to the airman to stand up.
Ramos said his office's analysis of all the evidence, including audio and video recordings of the incident, concluded that Webb acted in fear for his safety, but that his fear was not reasonable.
Ramos said charges of evading an officer and two counts of drunken driving have been filed against Escobedo, who also is to be arraigned Wednesday.
Arrangements have been made for Webb to surrender in court, Ramos said. His bail will be $175,000.
Watch Video:
Interview with cameraman Jose Luis Valdes
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Shooting victim's family speaks
Airman shot in Chino by Sheriff Deputy
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Watch NBC video of Chino shooting
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And from the AP in the Press Enterprise:
San Bernardino deputy to face charge in airman shooting
SAN BERNARDINO
A sheriff's deputy videotaped shooting an unarmed Iraq war veteran after a high-speed chase will be charged with attempted voluntary manslaughter, authorities said Tuesday.
The case against Deputy Ivory J. Webb, 45, includes the special allegations of infliction of great bodily injury and use of a firearm, San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael A. Ramos told a news conference. It was the first time the county's prosecutors filed charges against a lawman for an on-duty shooting.
Charging Webb was a "difficult decision," Ramos said, but enhancing the videotape "made our decision easier."
Attempted-murder charges were not filed because the necessary malice was not found, he said, but he termed the deputy's actions "unreasonable."
Sheriff Gary Penrod said Webb, a 10-year veteran of the Sheriff's Department, will remain on paid administrative leave as the investigation of the shooting of Air Force Senior Airman Elio Carrion, 21, continues.
The sheriff said he believed Webb, who was alone, appeared to be scared, but that didn't excuse his actions.
Webb's arraignment was set for Wednesday. If convicted, he could face up to 18 1/2 years in prison. Webb has made no public comment since the incident.
On Jan. 29, Carrion, an Air Force security officer just back from Iraq, was a passenger in a Corvette that was involved in a high-speed nighttime chase before crashing into a wall in Chino, about 45 miles east of Los Angeles.
A grainy videotape shot by a resident shows Carrion on the ground just outside the car's passenger door and Webb standing nearby, pointing at gun at him. A voice appears to order Carrion to rise. When the airman appears to begin to comply, the deputy shoots him three times.
The district attorney said the words "get up" were heard on the tape and there was no indication that anyone other than Webb told Carrion to rise.
Carrion suffered gunshot wounds to the chest, shoulder and left thigh and was hospitalized for several days.
His sister, Monique Carrion, 22, was surprised by the district attorney's announcement.
"I'm just in shock right now," she said in a telephone interview. "We've just been trying to stay strong and help my brother get better. Just give him support, which is what he needs right now."
Authorities found no weapons on Carrion or the driver, Luis Escobedo.
Prosecutors also announced they were charging Escobedo with felony attempting to evade a peace officer while driving recklessly and misdemeanor driving under the influence. He also was expected to surrender on Wednesday. The case against him carries a maximum penalty of 3 1/2 years in prison.
The FBI has opened an inquiry into possible civil rights violations. The Sheriff's Department conducted its own probe and forwarded the results to the district attorney's office Feb. 10 without a recommendation on whether charges should be filed.
At the time, the sheriff said the videotape "arouses a lot of suspicion" about what occurred, but he added that the tape is fuzzy and contains gaps, making it difficult to put the entire chain of events in clear perspective.
"In any type of investigation it is the responsibility of the Sheriff's Department to put together all the facts. ... The district attorney's role is to take those facts and determine whether there is sufficient evidence to issue a criminal complaint. Obviously that was their choice in this investigation," Penrod said Tuesday.
Ramos assigned two top attorneys to review the shooting full-time and requested an FBI enhancement of the tape. He previously said the prosecutors were paying close attention to "exactly what was said" during the confrontation.
___
Associated Press Writer Solvej Schou in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
Published: Tuesday, March 7, 2006 11:02
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