UPDATE: More facts emerging after fatal Riverside PD shooting in Jurupa Valley

JURUPA VALLEY — With the Sheriff Department’s investigation into yesterday’s fatal shooting of a wanted parolee continuing, City of Riverside Police officials have released additional details regarding the events that led to the man’s death in a quiet Jurupa Valley residential neighborhood.

The man, whose name has not been released, was wanted in connection with a shooting last year, Riverside PD spokesperson Officer Ryan J. Railsback explained the day after the deadly shooting. Citing the ongoing investigation, Railsback said that for now, officials will be withholding the man’s identification.

SEE ORIGINAL AND UPDATED REPORTS: Sheriffs investigating after RPD officers fatally shoot man in JV neighborhood

Riverside police officers began searching for the unidentified parolee the morning of Aug. 26, 2017, after he allegedly tried to shoot his ex-girlfriend during an argument on the 4200 block of Langston Street, between 12th and 14th Streets, in Riverside.

Although the victim was not injured in the shooting, based on their investigation detectives obtained a parole violation warrant for the man’s arrest, according to Railsback. He has been on the run and Riverside PD and other law enforcement agencies “have been actively searching for him since.”

As their investigation continued, Riverside PD officials developed leads and gathered information that eventually led them to a private residence on the 9900 block of Willowbrook Road, northwest of Van Buren Boulevard and Jurupa Road, in Jurupa Valley.

The locations of last year’s shooting and where the parolee was fatally shot last night are only about ten miles apart.

Based on those leads, members of Riverside PD’s METRO (SWAT) Team were conducting surveillance on Willowbrook Road when officials spotted the alleged suspect just after 5:30 p.m.

“As the officers attempted to arrest the suspect … an officer-involved shooting occurred,” Railsback explained today. A subsequent emergency broadcast advising that the officers had been involved in a shooting and that a subject was down at the scene brought law enforcement officials from multiple area agencies, as well as firefighters and paramedics, converging on the neighborhood.

“Life-saving measures were performed but the suspect succumbed to his injuries,” said Railsback, who explained officials pronounced the man deceased at the scene.

Because the shooting happened within Jurupa Valley – a city which contracts with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department to provide for their law enforcement services – investigators from the Jurupa Valley Police Station and Sheriff’s Central Homicide Unit responded to the scene and eventually assumed the investigation.

After the deadly shooting, Riverside PD also sent an “investigative team” to the scene to assist with the Sheriff’s investigation as well as conduct a separate internal investigation into the shooting itself, to help determine if the shooting was within departmental policy.

As the shooting investigation was getting underway, one area resident who requested not to be identified, told members of media gathered at the scene that moments before hearing “five or six shots,” she heard people shouting commands.

Another witness only identified as “Pat” told reporters she heard a person scream, “Don’t shoot! There are children here.”

Officials have not confirmed if any children were at or inside the residence or where they were when the deadly shooting happened, however one local-area news videographer / photographer later reported seeing a young mother and six small children sitting on a curb outside the home where the deadly shooting happened.

The children’s ages appeared to range from a few months to about 7 or 8-years-old and it was not immediately known how or if the woman and children were related to the alleged suspect.

In an online interview, another area resident James Sudenberg said he had been watering his front lawn when he heard “lots of shouting” followed by “a volley of gunfire” from the next street over from his. Sudenberg explained he could not tell what had been shouted or exactly how many rounds were fired, which he described as being fired “in rapid succession.”

“When I first heard the gunshots I turned off the water and froze for a moment, then ran into my house and called 911 to report the gunfire,” Sudenberg explained the night of the shooting.

“I still can’t believe something like this could have happened in this neighborhood,” Sudenberg lamented the day after all the unexpected activity within his neighborhood. “But, I guess it’s just a sign of the times nowadays. Nobody is really safe anywhere anymore, are they?”

Other than the alleged suspect, officials have said there were no other reported injuries related to the incident.

In accordance with Riverside PD’s policy, the involved officers were placed on administrative leave and officials have not released the officer’s names.

The investigation is active and ongoing and the Sheriff’s Central Homicide Unit has encouraged anyone with information regarding this incident or who witnessed the deadly shooting to contact Investigator Johnson at (760) 393-3502, or Investigator Liu of the Jurupa Valley Station at (951) 955-2600.

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Trevor Montgomery, who recently moved from Riverside County to Shasta County, runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for Riverside County based newspapers Valley News, The Valley Chronicle and Anza Valley Outlook as well as 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, breaking his back and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries 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.