Federal agent shot drug suspect who allegedly tried to rob him

Police released new information Wednesday about an officer-involved shooting in Chula Vista, saying a drug suspect tried to rob a plainclothes federal agent who then fired in self-defense, killing the suspect.

The names of the Homeland Security Investigations senior agent and the man he shot were not released.

Four other suspects were arrested Tuesday afternoon, within hours of the shooting, and a fifth suspect later turned himself in at the San Ysidro border crossing, Chula Vista Police Capt. Lon Turner said Wednesday.

Authorities said an Operation Alliance drug task force of federal, state and local officers had arranged a 2 p.m. meeting with a group of suspected marijuana traffickers in a strip mall in the Eastlake neighborhood of Chula Vista.

The meeting unraveled into violence as at least one of the suspects assaulted the agent and tried to rob him, Turner said. The agent drew a handgun and shot the suspect several times. Paramedics took the man to a trauma center, where he died.

The agent, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Homeland Security, was treated at a hospital and released.

Some of the suspects took off in two vehicles, a white Ford Focus and a red SUV.

The Focus collided with another car a few blocks away. Officers swarmed into the area and within about an hour had three suspects in custody: Jesus Rizo, 20, Rafael Morataya-Aguilar, 19, and Jovani Bernal-Moreno, whose age was not available.

Officers who had blocked off most of the shopping center found another suspect, Sergio Arias-Ibarra, 31, hiding in the trunk of a car. A final suspect, Miguel Parra, 22, turned himself in to Chula Vista police at the San Ysidro pedestrian crossing later in the night, Turner said.

The five men were arrested on suspicion of possessing marijuana for sales, conspiracy and robbery, Turner said.

No information was available about whether agents seized marijuana from the men or whether any were armed. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman said the narcotics investigation was continuing and no information about the case would be released.

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pauline.repard@sduniontribune.com

Repard writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.