Nearly lethal: Man accused of having gun taken to ground by police at central Fresno market

A Fresno police officer was able to subdue a man accused of carrying a loaded handgun during a confrontation Saturday afternoon at a central Fresno market.

It happened at West Dakota and East Fruit avenues, where police learned that a man was demanding the clerk at the City Wide Market and Deli give him change for five $100 bills, Sgt. James Fowler said.

When the clerk refused, the man, who police say may have been under the influence of narcotics, pulled out a gun, slammed it on the counter, and began making threats. After not getting the change, the suspect was leaving in a car when officers arrived.

“We knew that there was a good possibility that he had the gun on him, which he did, and it’s real,” said Fowler, adding that a “keenly astute officer ... knew that this was a potentially lethal (situation), but opted to take a chance and make it a non-lethal event. When the officer had a shot, he fired a stun dart, temporarily discombobulating,” the suspect.

But the man quickly recovered and began walking away.

“To keep him away from the public, I knock him to the ground, we cuff him, and he had the weapon on him,” Fowler said.

It was a “very, very unique situation, and it presented an opportunity, an opportunity we took,” Fowler said.

This story was originally published July 24, 2021 at 4:40 PM.