A Ceres Police officer shot and killed a man Thursday evening who was coming at him with a knife.
The shooting took place at approximately 8:13 p.m. in the 1800 block of Richard Way. Rodwell Jauregui, 25, of Ceres, died of wounds after being transported to a Modesto hospital.
The incident began to unfold at 7:33 p.m. when Ceres patrol officers responded to dispute between neighbors in the 1800 block of Crestmoor Court. A 911 call indicated that Jauregui was armed with a knife. Apparently Jauregui had been tossing a knife at some trees on his property when it missed and hit the neighbor's pickup parked in the driveway. Jauregui was known for practicing with knives, said Chief of Police Art deWerk.
When officers arrived, the armed man was allegedly back inside his home but they were unable to located him.
About 24 minutes later, Ceres dispatchers began receiving calls of a subject, who matched the description of Jauregui, in the backyard of a home with a knife. The first call came from the 1700 block of Richland Avenue, approximately two blocks west of the original incident. Other calls came in saying Jauregui was in the backyard in the 1700 block of Richard Way, which was east of Richland where the first report came from, and north of Crestmoor where the original incident took place.
Officers began searching the yards of homes in 1700 and 1800 blocks of Richard Way. A team of three officers entered a yard in the 1800 block of Richard Way and began to search a large lot.
Officer Joseph Wren was searching the southeast corner of the lot when he was suddenly confronted by Jauregui, holding a knife with a 10-inch blade in his right hand. Wren instantly backed up, ordering Jauregui to stop but the suspect continued forward. The other two officers in the yard were moving to assist when four shots were fired at the man. Jauregui was hit on the left side of the upper torso.
A second knife was found on Jauregui.
Investigators say that Wren and Jauregui were approximately less than 10 feet apart when shots were fired.
Medical aid was rendered to Jauregui. He died in surgery at a Modesto hospital.
Police were unable to explain Jauregui's behavior, other than to say he may have been intoxicated.
"There are some indicators that he had been consuming alcohol in the course of the day but we're going to await the toxicology report," said deWerk.
The toxicology report should be complete in about two weeks, said deWerk.
He had prior contacts with police, said deWerk.
Officer Wren was on administrative leave but will be back on the job Thursday.
"He seems to be doing well at this point," de Werk said of Wren. "Some officers are affected their entire life. Whenever you take someone's life, it's a very unpleasant event."
He said police have met with neighbors who expressed fear and shock over the event.
The shooting took place at approximately 8:13 p.m. in the 1800 block of Richard Way. Rodwell Jauregui, 25, of Ceres, died of wounds after being transported to a Modesto hospital.
The incident began to unfold at 7:33 p.m. when Ceres patrol officers responded to dispute between neighbors in the 1800 block of Crestmoor Court. A 911 call indicated that Jauregui was armed with a knife. Apparently Jauregui had been tossing a knife at some trees on his property when it missed and hit the neighbor's pickup parked in the driveway. Jauregui was known for practicing with knives, said Chief of Police Art deWerk.
When officers arrived, the armed man was allegedly back inside his home but they were unable to located him.
About 24 minutes later, Ceres dispatchers began receiving calls of a subject, who matched the description of Jauregui, in the backyard of a home with a knife. The first call came from the 1700 block of Richland Avenue, approximately two blocks west of the original incident. Other calls came in saying Jauregui was in the backyard in the 1700 block of Richard Way, which was east of Richland where the first report came from, and north of Crestmoor where the original incident took place.
Officers began searching the yards of homes in 1700 and 1800 blocks of Richard Way. A team of three officers entered a yard in the 1800 block of Richard Way and began to search a large lot.
Officer Joseph Wren was searching the southeast corner of the lot when he was suddenly confronted by Jauregui, holding a knife with a 10-inch blade in his right hand. Wren instantly backed up, ordering Jauregui to stop but the suspect continued forward. The other two officers in the yard were moving to assist when four shots were fired at the man. Jauregui was hit on the left side of the upper torso.
A second knife was found on Jauregui.
Investigators say that Wren and Jauregui were approximately less than 10 feet apart when shots were fired.
Medical aid was rendered to Jauregui. He died in surgery at a Modesto hospital.
Police were unable to explain Jauregui's behavior, other than to say he may have been intoxicated.
"There are some indicators that he had been consuming alcohol in the course of the day but we're going to await the toxicology report," said deWerk.
The toxicology report should be complete in about two weeks, said deWerk.
He had prior contacts with police, said deWerk.
Officer Wren was on administrative leave but will be back on the job Thursday.
"He seems to be doing well at this point," de Werk said of Wren. "Some officers are affected their entire life. Whenever you take someone's life, it's a very unpleasant event."
He said police have met with neighbors who expressed fear and shock over the event.
