SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A wanted parolee was back behind bars Friday following his capture in the College area during an hours-long search that included the fatal shooting of a second wanted parolee by police.
A California State Parole agent notified San Diego police just before 10:30 a.m. Thursday that two wanted parolees with extensive criminal records were believed to be at an apartment building in the 5400 block of Reservoir Drive, San Diego police Lt. Jorge Duran said.
The agent also said that at least one of the parolees had a handgun and should be considered dangerous, according to Duran. Several officers then went to the apartment building and surrounded it.
"As officers were preparing to call the suspects out of the apartment, two males exited the apartment," Duran said. "When officers attempted to contact the males, they both ran."
The men ran in different directions and officers quickly cornered one of them, he said, adding that a 12-year SDPD veteran opened fire after the parolee turned toward officers and reached into his pockets despite orders from police to show his hands.
"Fearing he was about to be assaulted, the officer closest to the male fired his duty weapon, striking the male at least once," Duran said. "Paramedics were called to respond; however, the male died at the scene."
Police did not immediately say whether the fatally wounded suspect was armed.
Following the shooting, officers evacuated people from the apartment building where it occurred and searched the complex and surrounding neighborhood for the second wanted parolee, and nearby Alvarado Hospital was put on lockdown.
Several hours later, an officer found the man in the area and took him into custody with help from a good Samaritan, who helped tackle the parolee, police said.
Police did not immediately release either parolee's name.
Thursday's officer-involved shooting marked the third time in less than a week that SDPD personnel opened fire on a suspect. Shortly before 1:30 a.m. Saturday, auto-theft suspect 21-year-old Jonathan F. Vasquez of San Diego was fatally shot when he allegedly accelerated a stolen car directly toward three patrol officers at the end of a brief road chase in the Encanto area.
About 13 hours later, an SDPD officer shot domestic-violence suspect Tom Billodeaux, 22, of Escondido inside a movie theater at a multiplex in Carmel Mountain Ranch. Billodeaux allegedly prompted the shooting by pointing a pistol at the patrolman while trying to evade arrest by hiding out in a dark auditorium during a screening of "Les Miserables."
Billodeaux survived bullet wounds to his chest and arm. He pleaded not guilty Wednesday to felony assault counts and other charges from his hospital bed at Palomar Medical Center.