Armed homeowner was victim shot by Reedley police officer during burglary suspect hunt
The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office is continuing to investigate an officer-involved shooting early Monday where an armed homeowner was shot by a police officer in Reedley.
Reedley officers responded to a burglary alarm at Ace Hardware about 2:30 a.m. in the 900 block of East Manning Avenue.
As police arrived, one man, identified Wednesday as 38-year-old Joaquin Luna of Orange Cove, jumped off the roof. Luna ran and officers chased after him.
The chase continued through a neighborhood where Luna entered the backyard of homes and climbed onto rooftops. Luna allegedly broke into a home and woke up a homeowner who retrieved his firearm and began to investigate the noise.
The man didn’t locate anyone, but Luna appeared to exit the home.
The homeowner stepped outside to look for Luna and was holding his gun when an officer fired a shot, striking the man in the upper leg.
The man was taken to a hospital with a non-life threatening injury,
Luna was later found by other officers as he was hoping over more fences.
“We interviewed the officers, the homeowner and some witnesses and we do have video surveillance, and everything that we have so far is exactly the same,” Lt. Brandon Purcell said. “All the statements are corroborating the other statements and is consistent, which is very helpful in this case.
“Luna was the cause of this. Now whether there is criminal repercussions for that, that’s going to take us some time to unpack that.”
Officers searched the hardware store and found evidence of a break-in.
He was booked into Fresno County Jail on charges of burglary, vandalism worth more than $5,000 and resisting arrest. He had an outstanding warrant for burglary. His bail is set for $75,000.
The officer who shot the homeowner has five years of experience, with the past 18 months with the Reedley Police Department.
Asked if the homeowner was given a warning to drop his gun, sheriff’s office spokesman Tony Botti would say only that the incident is under investigation.
This story was originally published September 15, 2021 at 5:48 PM.
