Deputies Kill Man Armed With Paint-Ball Gun

A 45-year-old Calabasas man, allegedly wielding a paint-ball gun and shouting “I’m going to kill you,” was shot to death in his home by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies who thought he was carrying a real weapon, authorities said Thursday.

Joseph Pasko, who was unemployed, was allegedly in a drunken rage late Wednesday when deputies fired at him, said a neighbor who called authorities.

Deputies made two visits to Pasko’s mobile home in the 23700 block of Mulholland Highway, the first shortly after 10:30 p.m., in response to a 911 call from a neighbor who reported Pasko was arguing loudly with his mother, Deputy Richard Pena said.

Pasko was not at home during the first visit, so deputies left, only to return 30 minutes later, following a second call informing them that Pasko had returned and was combative, Pena said.

The deputies reported hearing threats as they approached the home, Pena said.

“They were in the dark and saw a big gun and he was yelling,” he said. “The suspect was threatening to kill [the deputies], who feared for their safety because the suspect had the intent and the means [to kill]. They had to stop him somehow.”

Pena said the stainless steel paint-ball gun resembled a real .45-caliber handgun.

Pasko, who was in his living room, visible through a sliding glass door, was shot several times in the upper body and died at the scene, Pena said. The case is being investigated by the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau, he said. The deputies involved, who were not identified, are on paid leave.

Thursday morning, friends and family members were at the home, cleaning up after the investigating detectives had left the scene. The home was riddled with bullet holes and a matted pool of blood stained the carpet where Pasko fell.

Relatives and neighbors described Pasko as a man who often drank and argued with his mother, Sally Pasko.

“He probably had too much to drink and got obnoxious,” said Pasko’s sister, Jennice Mears of Simi Valley. “That’s the way our family gets. We don’t shut up.”

The paint-ball gun belonged to Pasko’s teenage nephew, relatives said. One neighbor said Pasko, who was angry and drunk, was chasing the boy outside before the shooting.

“When he gets into a rage, you can’t do anything,” said neighbor Nancy Ellingson. “He was depressed.”

Family members said Pasko had fallen on hard times in recent years. About a year and a half ago, he had brain surgery following a fight he had in prison, where he was serving time for failing to pay child support. He was the divorced father of two boys.

“His brain was swollen and he needed surgery,” Mears said. “After [that], he was a lot slower.”

Soon after his release, while working as a carpenter, Pasko suffered a back injury when a ladder he was climbing broke, Mears said. The accident left him unable to work.

Pasko’s mother was distraught and resting at a friend’s home Thursday afternoon.

“He was my son and I loved him,” she said. “Everyone here knew him and he wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

“He was loved by everyone,” said Pasko’s uncle, Corey Lamos of Simi Valley. “The only person he’d hurt was himself.”