Suspect Is Shot as Deputy Stumbles

A San Diego County sheriff’s deputy searching on foot for two suspected auto thieves in a remote area along California 67 stumbled and accidentally fired his handgun, critically injuring one of the suspects in the head, authorities said Friday.

Deputy John Groff, 40, was walking on Calle de Rob, a dirt trail on the edge of the Sycamore Canyon County Preserve on Thursday night, when he came upon the suspects at 8:41 p.m., Sheriff’s Lt. John Tenwolde said.

As Groff pulled out his handcuffs, pointed his gun at the men and walked toward them to take them into custody, he stumbled and fired at least one shot from his semi-automatic pistol, Tenwolde said.

The injured man, whose identity was not known, had gunshot wounds in the left arm and the head, Tenwolde said. He was taken to Sharp Memorial Hospital, where he underwent surgery and was in “extremely critical” condition Friday night, hospital spokesman Ken Ulrich said.

Tenwolde told reporters at a Friday news conference that investigators had not yet examined Groff’s gun to determine how many shots were fired. Groff was distraught after the shooting and could not recall whether his gun had fired a second time, Tenwolde said.

“There is no reason to doubt the account of the shooting as offered by the deputy,” Tenwolde said.

Ulrich, the hospital spokesman, said that, although a surgeon removed bullet fragments from the man’s head, he could not determine if the fragments came from more than one bullet. The man’s arm wound may have been from the same bullet that entered the man’s head, Ulrich said.

Groff, who has been with the Sheriff’s Department seven years, was placed on administrative duties pending completion of the investigation.

The deputy became involved in the search for the two men after they were chased to Sycamore Canyon about an hour earlier by civilians who saw them driving a stolen vehicle in Ramona, authorities said.

At 7:30 p.m., a man at a Ramona gas station reported seeing a friend’s truck in possession of strangers. The man informed the truck’s owner, who got into another truck with two friends and, accompanied by a third friend in a second vehicle, chased the stolen truck south on California 67.

About 2 miles south of Poway Road, the stolen truck and the pursuing truck collided and rolled off the road.

The two suspects then ran into the preserve as one of the pursuers fired several shots at them.

Groff came upon the suspected thieves as they were standing in bushes along the dirt trail, which authorities said was slippery and heavily rutted from winter rains.

The second suspect, Manuel Romero Estrada, was taken to Palomar Medical Center in Escondido, where he was being treated for minor injuries suffered in the collision with the pursuing vehicle.

He was booked on suspicion of auto theft and possession of stolen property.

Two of the men in the pursuing vehicle also were treated at local hospitals for minor injuries received in the collision.