VENTURA : Chief Says Officers Cleared in Shootings

In his first public statement about two fatal shootings involving police, Ventura Police Chief Richard Thomas said Wednesday that both officers were innocent of any wrongdoing.

Thomas said a preliminary internal investigation has found that Officer Brian Hewlett followed police policy on Sunday when he shot mental patient Ernesto Vargas Garcia, 28, of Santa Paula who was allegedly moving toward him wielding a three-foot-long board.

“The use of lethal force by Officer Hewlett, while tragic, was within our policy and the law regarding the use of lethal force,” Thomas said in a prepared statement.

Thomas said the investigation into the shooting of the man and discussions with mental health officials would continue. Hewlett, who is taking some previously planned vacation time, is scheduled to return to patrol duty this week.

Thomas also said that a completed internal investigation cleared Patrolman Tim Turner of any wrongdoing in the April 29 shooting of James Anthony Zendejas.

Turner shot Zendejas, 21, of Ventura, after Zendejas allegedly pointed a cigarette lighter that looked like a small-caliber handgun at a group of people in the Ventura Avenue area.

“It was determined that Officer Turner feared for the safety of the robbery victims and fired with the belief that their lives were in danger,” Thomas said.

Witnesses told police that Zendejas tried to rob three men, holding the replica gun to one of their heads. Police said Zendejas turned around to walk away, but turned back and pointed the cigarette lighter at the group, prompting Turner to fire his shotgun.

Police spokesman Pat Miller said that Turner took a few administrative days off after the incident, but returned to patrol duty within a week of the shooting.

Meanwhile, Pam Zendejas, the mother of the victim, said she still has questions about the shooting. She said one attorney has refused her case, saying she did not have enough evidence to challenge her son’s shooting.

“I’m not mad at the officer, but there should have been something besides shooting that he could have done,” she said. “I hope it turns out that Jimmy didn’t do anything wrong.”

The district attorney’s office is still investigating the both cases.