Fight with armed security guard outside Hemet Taco Bell leads to fatal shooting
HEMET, Calif., — Authorities today are continuing to investigate the fatal shooting of a man by an armed security guard outside a Hemet Taco Bell late last night, Friday, Aug. 6. The man killed in the shooting had reportedly urinated in full-view of the fast-food restaurant’s patrons and allegedly fought with a security guard who tried to confront him, leading to the fatal shooting. The security guard, who was injured during the scuffle, remains out of custody while officials continue their investigation.
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City of Hemet police officers were dispatched to the scene, located just southwest of the intersection of E. Florida Avenue and Yale Street around 11:45 p.m. after 911 dispatchers began receiving calls regarding a shooting that had just occurred outside the restaurant, Hemet PD has since said of the fatal encounter.
One of the 911 calls was from an on-duty armed security guard who said that he shot someone who had attacked him, according to officials.
Officials who cordoned off the area of the parking lot where last night’s deadly shooting occurred also placed a privacy barrier to block the view of a man who was fatally shot during a fight with an armed security guard. Hemet Crime Society photo
“Hemet Police officers and Hemet Fire paramedics soon arrived and found a 30 year old male down in the parking lot suffering from at least one gunshot wound,” officials said; adding, “The man died at the scene.”
Officers secured the area as a crime scene and requested additional resources to the location.
Early in their investigation, officials interviewed the 43-year-old security guard who admitted he shot the suspect during a violent physical altercation in the restaurant’s rear parking lot.
“The security guard, who had sustained cuts & contusions during the confrontation with the man, was treated on-scene by paramedics,” officials described; adding that no one else was injured during the incident.
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“Initial information to investigators is that the security guard had contacted the man behind a fast food restaurant near a tree in the parking lot,” officials described. “The security guard believed the man had relieved himself in view of customers in the drive-thru lane so he tried to speak with him.”
“The guard related that the man charged and attacked him,” officials continued, saying the physical altercation ultimately led to the fatal shooting.
Although last night’s fatal encounter began near a tree outside the Taco Bell, the ensuing violent scuffle ended some distance away in a rear parking lot behind the restaurant and between it and a nearby Rent-A-Center. Hemet Crime Society photo
Detectives are continuing to interview the security guard and other identified witnesses. They have also collected and are reviewing surveillance videos from the area to verify the security guard’s version of what led to the deadly shooting.
As of this morning, Florida Avenue and Yale Street remain open, but portions of the parking lot surrounding the Taco Bell remain taped off. These areas will likely be closed for several hours as this investigation progresses, said officials.
Anyone with further information or who witnessed or possibly recorded this incident, or what led up to the physical confrontation in the parking lot, is encouraged to contact Hemet Police Sergeant Gabe Gomez at (951) 765-2396 or [email protected]. Callers can remain anonymous.
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Hemet Crime Society photos above, video below
Contact the writer: [email protected]
Trevor Montgomery, 50, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).
Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County-based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.
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. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s 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 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.
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