COACHELLA: Officials announce arrest of man who shot deputy “multiple times”
COACHELLA — A known gang member wanted in connection with last week’s shooting of a Riverside County sheriff’s deputy during a traffic stop and foot pursuit in Coachella was apprehended in Mexico after an extensive manhunt, officials announced Thursday.
See related story: UPDATED: COACHELLA: Search for suspect who shot deputy multiple times continues
Riverside County Sheriff Stan Sniff speaks at a June 2 press conference announcing Davila’s arrest. RSO photo
During a press conference held June 2 at the Riverside County Sheriff’s Thermal Station, Riverside Sheriff Stan Sniff and other law enforcement and city officials announced the apprehension and arrest of 27-year-old, Coachella resident, Gildardo Davila.
“The Sheriff’s Department deployed massive resources and worked closely with our federal law enforcement partners in a manhunt that tracked Davila into Mexico,” said Sniff.
The efforts of the combined law enforcement agencies from two countries clearly paid off.
“On June first, Davila was located in Mexicali, Mexico, and with the assistance of the Mexicali Police Authority, Davilla was taken into custody.” said Sniff.
During the press conference, Sheriff Sniff also identified the deputy who was shot and injured in last weeks shooting as 33-year-old, Deputy David Solis, a seven year veteran of the Sheriff’s Department.
Solis suffered as many as five gunshot wounds, according to different news agencies. He was shot in the chest, arm and hand, which did “considerable damage to some of his fingers,” according to authorities.
Deputies flooded into the area after the injured deputy put out an emergency call for assistance. Loudlabs News Photo
“I won’t recount how many rounds we’re fired (at Solis,) but it was a lot of rounds fired at him out of a hand gun,” Sniff explained.
When he was shot, the deputy had been wearing his bullet-resistant vest – which authorities say most likely saved his life.
“There was no penetration in the chest cavity,” Sniff explained. “But he is a very, very lucky individual…he is left-handed and shot in his gun hand, so he was badly wounded.”
Solis was released from the hospital last weekend and is expected to make a full recovery; however, because the deputy was shot through his prominent hand in which he holds his gun, he will likely have to undergo extensive therapy to be able to effectively use the hand again.
Cooperation between multiple agencies, covering several jurisdictions in two countries “paramount” in locating and capturing Davila
“The Sheriff’s Department deployed massive resources and worked closely with our federal law enforcement partners in a manhunt that tracked Davila into Mexico,” said Sniff. RSO photo
After the press conference, City of Coachella Mayor Steven Hernandez, who had previously posted on his Facebook page and told the Desert Sun, “I’m not going to let one asshole hinder or speak to the progress we’ve made,” and said, “(Davila) is not representative of who we are,” describing the suspect as, “no different than a cop-killer in my opinion,” proudly announced that ongoing cooperation with Coachella’s sister city in Mexico played a large role in Davila’s apprehension.
“Cooperation between local law enforcement and authorities in Coachella’s sister city in Mexicali was paramount for Davila’s arrest,” Hernandez said after Davila’s apprehension and return to Riverside County.
“I’m proud of the relationship we have with our Mexican authorities and with (Solomón Rosas,) our Mexican Consulate who assisted in these areas,’ Hernandez explained. “I’m glad that he’s been captured and I’m glad that we got a positive result and at the end of the day, our relationships are paying off.”
Rosas, Consol of Mexico for San Bernardino and Riverside County, agreed with Hernandez that multi-jurisdictional cooperation was key in Davila’s capture, saying, “We (did) our part calling the authorities in Mexico and to different authorities…and they worked efficiently in this investigation.”
Although Davila has been apprehended and investigators have identified the second person seen running from the vehicle after last week’s shooting, Sniff said the investigation is not over, explaining, “There are other individuals we seek to identify that may have taken part in this incident by assisting the suspect evade capture.”
Sniff would not state or speculate how Davila managed to elude capture or if he had help in fleeing the country; however, those who officials identify as having helped Davila elude capture and flee to Mexico could face felony charges and prison time.
The shooting that left a deputy with multiple gunshot wounds
Officials responded from around the Coachella Valley and surrounding areas. Loudlabs News Photo
Deputy Solis from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Thermal/Coachella Police Station was shot Thursday, May 25, about 7:45 p.m., when he attempted to conduct a traffic enforcement stop on a vehicle in the area of Harrison and First Streets in Coachella.
“The driver of the vehicle failed to stop and threw a handgun from the vehicle,” Riverside County Sheriff spokesman Deputy Armando Muñoz wrote in a press release after the shooting.
Shortly afterward, the deputy located the same vehicle in the area of Calle Mendoza and Las Flores Avenue, just south of Sierra Vista Park.
Davila allegedly shot Solis after he fled from the still-moving vehicle.
After being shot, Solis, who suffered “multiple gunshot wounds” was airlifted to a hospital with “non-life threatening injuries,” said Muñoz.
Security camera footage obtained by sheriff’s officials and KESQ showed a yellow Mustang being driven slowly southbound on Calle Mendoza towards the “T” intersection of Las Flores Avenue.
Deputies manned posts in numerous locations around the shooting perimeter. Loudlabs News Photo
As the security footage continues, a patrol vehicle is seen driving quickly towards the car, at which time the footage shows a man, reported to be Davila, leap from the driver’s seat of the still-moving car.
The video shows the man fleeing on foot away from the car; first running south on Calle Mendoza, then east on Las Flores Street. As he is running, the person on the video can be seen carrying what appears to be a rectangular case or bag in his right hand.
Solis, who at the time was still in his patrol vehicle, is next seen on the video racing around the suspect’s still-moving car as it slowed to a stop.
Both the fleeing man and the deputy in the pursuing patrol vehicle then leave the right (east) side of the screen towards a cul-de-sac and a triangular dirt field adjacent to the Whitewater Riverbed.
Moments later, the security footage shows a second person exiting and fleeing from the vehicle. He is last seen running the opposite direction, northwest on Calle Mendoza.
At some point after Davila and Solis leave the screen, the deputy exited his patrol vehicle and began chasing the fleeing man on foot.
An officer searches a vehicle’s trunk for the suspect. Loudlabs News Photo
As Solis chased Davila, “the suspect, who was armed with a handgun, shot and injured the officer,” said Muñoz.
Officials did not specify the exact location where Davila shot and injured the deputy or which direction the suspect was believed to have fled after the shooting; however, between the riverbed, nearby Highway 86, a school and several large, open fields, Davila could have disappeared in any direction after shooting and wounding Solis.
Sheriff’s officials have not released if the injured deputy managed to return fire during the shooting incident and have also not specified the exact nature or extent of the deputies gunshot wounds; however, several news outlets have reported he was shot as many as five times.
After he was shot, Solis put out an emergency call for assistance, according to Muñoz. The deputy’s call for help brought a flood of law enforcement officials from multiple agencies, jurisdictions and stations throughout the Coachella Valley and surrounding areas.
Despite assistance from multiple law enforcement agencies and the Sheriff’s Emergency Response Team (SERT/SWAT) and an hours-long search for the suspected shooter, he was not found that evening.
International search begins after Davila named as shooting suspect
RSO press release naming Gildardo Davila as the shooting suspect.
Early in their investigation sheriff’s officials identified Davila as the person who allegedly shot and wounded Solis.
According to sheriff’s officials and court documents, Davila – who goes by the street monikers “Goofy” and “Gil Dog” – is a known and documented member of the notoriously dangerous “Varrio Coachella Rifa” criminal street gang.
Varrio Coachella Rifa, which is also commonly referred to as VCR, is currently the subject of an ongoing gang injunction put in place by the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office about one year ago.
Different sources have listed Varrio Coachella Rifa as having between 340 and 400 members, of which law enforcement officials have identified about 300. Superior Court documents filed in support of the injunction against the gang listed about 120 known VCR members alphabetically. Davila is number 33 on the list.
Since the shooting, Riverside County sheriff’s investigators and other officials have been working tirelessly and around the clock and “deployed massive resources” to locate Davila.
Following tips provided from throughout the community, Mexican law enforcement officials in Mexicali located and apprehended Davila without incident, Thursday, June 1.
“There was no fight and actually he was described as quite stoic and we have not gotten any statement up to this point” Sniff said of Davila’s apprehension. “There was no resistance. No issue.”
Countless Mexicali Police authorities converged on Davila, when they apprehended him in Mexicali’s Industrial colony. La Cronica image
La Cronica, a Mexico-based news organization which was first to break the news of Davila’s apprehension, reported that Davila was found hiding with friends and family in Mexicali.
Mexicali officials received a tip that Davila “was walking along one of the streets of the Industrial colony,” wrote La Cronica, which also stated when sheriff’s officials searched the Mustang Davila fled from, they discovered and seized narcotics and three AR-15-style “assault rifles.”
Mexicali officials later turned Davila over to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department’s Fugitive Warrant Enforcement Team at the international border, said Muñoz.
Once Davila was back in Riverside County, he was booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside on suspicion of thirteen felony and five misdemeanor charges.
His charges include attempted murder on a peace officer, assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, being a felon in possession of an illegal assault weapon, multiple narcotics-related charges, evading arrest and other charges.
Davila remains in custody and he is being held without bail.
The Riverside Sheriff’s Department is encouraging anyone with information regarding this investigation to contact Master Investigator James Dickey at (951) 955-2777. Members of the public wishing to remain anonymous can provide information by calling 760-341-STOP (7867). Citizens may also submit a tip using the Sheriff’s CrimeTips online form.
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Trevor Montgomery runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News and Anza Valley Outlook and also writes for Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County.
Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg and breaking his back in an off-duty accident.
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center and Lake Elsinore Station, along with other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 26 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and has 13 children and 12 – soon to be 13 – grandchildren.