$350,000 Bail Set for Suspect in Shooting of Police Officer
A judge set bail at $350,000 for a San Diego man who pleaded innocent Tuesday to charges of shooting a police officer during a traffic stop.
Municipal Judge Louis E. Boyle also scheduled a Thursday bail review hearing for Raul Zamudio Cortez, 19, who is accused of trying to murder San Diego Police Officer Scott W. Haney Saturday.
Cortez, who faces life in prison if convicted, is accused of shooting Haney below the left arm after two previous shots were stopped by Haney’s bulletproof vest.
The officer, who stopped Cortez on the California 163 on-ramp to Interstate 5 because he thought the defendant was driving erratically, continues to improve following surgery at UCSD Medical Center.
“The defendant had two minor outstanding (traffic) warrants for his arrest at the time he was stopped,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Keith Burt told Boyle. “He informed police (after his arrest) that, in his own words, the reason he intended to kill the officer . . . was because he didn’t want to be taken into custody.”
Cortez, who appeared in court with his legs and arms in shackles, was arrested by SWAT officers at his apartment several hours after the officer was shot.
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