| < Back to Government Murders |
|
By DARYL FARNSWORTH
MODESTO BEE STAFF WRITER
(Published: Monday, September 18, 2000)
Modesto police said Saturday that 11-year-old Alberto Sepulveda was lying face down in his bedroom, complying with police orders, when he was fatally shot Wednesday morning by a SWAT team member.
The police investigation's final finding was that the shooting by officer David Hawn was accidental.
The report now goes to three other concurrent investigations being conducted by the department's Internal Affairs division, the Modesto city attorney and the district attorney. The district attorney will decide if any criminal charges will be filed.
Capt. Ron Sale outlined the department's findings and details of the shooting for news media. He was acting police chief this weekend for Chief Roy Wasden, who was out of the state to help move his family to Modesto.
Other key elements in the police findings:
"We wanted to explain everything the Police Department has been doing since the shooting occurred," Sale said. "We don't want to hold back anything. The shooting was a tragic accident, and everyone at the Modesto Police Department is deeply moved for the victim's family," he said.
"On behalf of all of us at the Modesto Police Department and the city of Modesto, we again wish to extend our heartfelt sympathy to the members of Alberto's family. I and every member of the community share their grief," Sale said.
Juan Alvarez, president of the Hispanic Leadership Council, met with Modesto police officials and Assistant City Manager Paul Baxter on Saturday to hear the details of the SWAT raid and subsequent shooting.
"I'm 100 percent behind the police and the police chief," Alvarez said. "The point is that we (the community) have to get rid of these drugs. Drugs is why the police were there. It was a tragic accident."
Alvarez said he was assured that a drug raid by police at a home in a wealthy neighborhood would be handled the same way as anywhere else in Modesto.
Sale said the boy died from a single shotgun wound to the back. He was lying face down on the floor of a bedroom when he was shot. The shotgun slug entered the boy's body behind the right shoulder and it ended up almost exiting the body near the boy's left nipple. The boy died instantly.
"I'm sure that one question on everybody's mind is how did the gun go off?" Sale said. "At this point in time, every indication we have is this was a tragic and accidental discharge, however, we don't know what caused it. We may never know exactly what caused the weapon to discharge."
Weapon will be tested
Hawn's shotgun has been examined by a Police Department armorer, and it was determined that the trigger mechanism had not been altered from the original factory design, Sale said.
He said that the shotgun will be sent to the Department of Justice on Monday for further testing.
Hawn has been placed on paid leave, which is the usual procedure when an officer is involved in a shooting. He is expected to return to duty in about a week.
Sale said the fatal shooting is the first time a Modesto police SWAT officer's weapon has accidentally discharged during a raid.
"We do know that officer Hawn was shocked and stunned and his spontaneous statement (after the shotgun discharged) was that he didn't have his finger on the trigger," Sale said.
Raid on home detailed
Sale gave the following account of the SWAT raid:
Federal drug agents early Wednesday had gone to the boy's home at 2524 McAdoo Ave. to serve a search warrant and arrest the boy's father, 33-year-old Moises Sepulveda.
Modesto SWAT officers, speaking in English and Spanish, demanded entry into the Sepulveda home at 6:21 a.m. Twenty seconds after demanding entry, the officers saw movement inside the house near a front window. Ten seconds later, the SWAT team members forced their way inside the front door. Hawn was the second SWAT officer to enter the home.
Moments after entering the house, SWAT officers tossed a smoke bomb into the living room, and it exploded near a couch.
The officers then found the person they were looking for, Moises Sepulveda. He was standing near the front door, and he did not resist arrest. He was ordered to lie on the floor, and he was handcuffed.
The officers then found Alberto in a bedroom and ordered him to the floor, and he complied. At the same time, officers found his 8-year-old sister, Xitlalic, in a front bedroom.
The officers also encountered Alberto's brother, Moises Jr., 14, in the hallway and found the children's mother in a back bedroom. She was brought to the living room where her husband was being detained, and she also was handcuffed.
Struggle with brother
At the time the shotgun discharged, Hawn was standing near three other SWAT officers in a narrow hallway. Two of the officers were struggling with Moises Jr., who was refusing to cooperate with the officers' commands to lie down on the floor, police said.
"(Moises Jr.) kept trying to get up, and the SWAT team leader put his foot on the juvenile's back to keep him on the floor," Sale said. "The juvenile was told to stay down on the floor several times.
"While the 14-year-old boy was being handcuffed, immediately behind him in this extremely confined space, officer Hawn was standing at the threshold of bedroom number two (where Alberto was located) and his weapon accidentally discharged," Sale said. "It was like Grand Central Station in the hallway. Everyone was bumping into each other while they were struggling with the 14-year-old and then the gunshot was heard," he said.
Sale said the bedroom Alberto was in was dark, and Hawn could only see a young male in the darkness. He said Hawn ordered the boy to get face down on the floor and Alberto immediately complied.
According to Sale, Hawn took up a position at the bedroom entrance in order to secure that room. For the safety of the officers, Hawn had trained his shotgun on the boy on the floor, illuminating him with the shotgun's light.
Officers said that Alberto appeared to be a large boy, about 200 pounds, and officers thought he was about 15 or 16 years old.
"The next thing that was heard (after the shot) was officer Hawn's voice in great distress utter a profanity and say something to the effect that his finger was not on the trigger," Sale said. "(Hawn) expressed shock that the weapon had discharged. Officer Hawn then illuminated the bedroom with a flashlight mounted on his weapon, and he discovered that Alberto had been shot."
Hawn called for firefighters and paramedics, who were standing by down the street.
Officers then moved the other members of the Sepulveda family out of the home.
Sale reported Hawn's shotgun was immediately secured by other officers, and Hawn was taken to the Police Department to be interviewed.
When paramedics arrived at the Sepulveda home, they checked the boy and pronounced him dead.
Investigation led to raid
Sale also outlined the federal investigation that led to the raid. He said that since January 1999, federal narcotics agents have focused on the drug trafficking organization of Manuel Ruelas. During the investigation, federal drug agents reportedly made several buys of methamphetamine through Ruelas and his associates. The drug buys yielded 3 1/2 pounds of methamphetamine.
Agents also seized three large scale methamphetamine labs, which were also part of the Ruelas organization, he said.
As a result of the investigation, drug agents obtained a federal affidavit for the arrest of Moises Sepulveda Sr. In addition, 14 search warrants were issued for locations in Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties, including the Sepulveda residence on McAdoo Avenue in the Highway Village area of Modesto.
Moises Sepulveda Sr. was released Friday on $20,000 bond. He is charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
Federal agents also alerted SWAT officers conducting the drug raids that members of the Ruelas organization were to be considered armed and dangerous and it was likely that weapons would be at the 14 targeted locations.
Police asked about the possible presence of children in the Sepulveda home and were told that federal agents had conducted surveillance and knew of no children at the address, Sale said.
Sale said the SWAT officers were assigned to enter and secure the 14 locations. Then the SWAT officers were no longer needed and federal drug agents would begin their investigations and conduct their searches for suspects, weapons and drugs.
| < Back to Government Murders |
|