D.A. Says Police Were Justified in 3 Fatal Shootings

The Orange County district attorney’s office has determined that law enforcement officers were justified in the shooting deaths of three men in March and April, including two who were unarmed.

Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi said Saturday that an investigation of the shootings proved that the officers involved had “no criminal liability” in the deaths. In the two cases involving unarmed victims, the district attorney’s review concluded that the officers had reason to believe the men were reaching for weapons.

The fatal shootings investigated were those of Eric Parga, 22, of Santa Ana on March 16; Kenneth Wade Collins, 28, of Garden Grove on March 28, and Jose de Jesus Ramos Gonzalez, 27, of Santa Ana on April 4.

Parga was fatally wounded during a parking lot brawl outside the Carnivale Club in Fullerton. The incident, which occurred about 2 a.m. on March 16, involved seven people fighting in the parking lot, during which some shots were fired, according to police reports.

Two off-duty Los Angeles Police Department officers were working as private security guards and heard the gunshots in the parking lot area, according to investigators. The officers, Randy Garcia, 34, and David Navarro, 32, went to the scene and saw Parga with a .22-caliber pistol, the investigators said.

Garcia ordered Parga to drop the gun, but Parga fired the weapon at the group of fighting men around him, investigators said. Officer Garcia then shot Parga, according to the investigation. The district attorney’s office said residue of powder burns was found on Parga’s hands, proving that he had fired a gun.

Collins was fatally shot about 10:45 p.m. March 28 outside a Circle K store in the 2200 block of Chapman Avenue in Stanton. A deputy sheriff, who was not identified, shot Collins after two struggles with him and after Collins refused to stop running, according to investigators.

Collins was unarmed when he was shot, but Deputy Dist. Atty. Bryan Brown said Saturday the deputy fired “because the officer thought he was going for a gun.” Earlier, while the two men were struggling, Brown said, a big, combat-style knife fell to the ground from Collins’ clothing. “It was one awesome knife,” Brown said.

The deputy had tried to stop Collins for questioning, and Collins began fighting him, Brown said.

Brown said Saturday that he investigated the incident and found that Collins was carrying “a large amount of methamphetamines” at the time of the shooting incident. Brown said Collins also had taken some of the drug himself.

The fatal shooting of Gonzalez occurred about 2 p.m. on April 4 outside a 7-Eleven market on the corner of Williams and Main streets in Tustin. Orange police officers approached Gonzalez in his car to arrest him on suspicion of selling drugs, investigators said.

The victim, who was unarmed, was shot when one officer said he saw Gonzalez reaching underneath his car seat, possibly for a weapon, investigators said.

The officer then fired one shot, investigators said. Another officer then fired four more shots, according to the investigation. The officers were not identified.

Gonzalez did not have a weapon, but Capizzi said the investigation determined that both police officers had reason to believe their lives were being threatened.