STOCKTON, Calif. — The Stockton Police Department released video showing the moments leading up to the shooting of a robbery suspect in April 2024.
The shooting is connected to a robbery along the 5700 block of Pacific Avenue on April 12. Police said a masked suspect entered the business with a gun and demanded money. He then took off before the police arrived.
Dispatch audio was released of an employee reporting the robbery not long after it happened, saying that the man wore a black ski mask and had a handgun.
Officers arrived not long afterward and searched the area until they got a report of a prowler along the 400 block of West Swain Road. Police said the suspect was trying to hide under cars and possibly get inside homes.
Police found the suspect hiding in the backyard of a home along the 400 block of West Longview Avenue, which is a block to the north of the robbed business.
Police used PA systems and a K9 announcement to order the suspect out of the yard, but they didn't work.
Eventually, police made their way into the backyard and found the suspect hiding behind some debris in a narrow walkway.
Body camera video shows police calling out to the suspect in the walkway and the suspect telling officers that he had a gun. An officer responds and is heard saying in the video that if the suspect pulled out a gun, then the suspect would be shot and killed.
The suspect refused to put his hands up and instead extended his hands out in front of him toward officers "to simulate pointing a gun and ran at the officers," police said in a news release. The suspect was shot by a less-than-lethal shotgun and another officer's gun.
The officers are then seen going over to the suspect to provide medical treatment. He was then taken to a hospital by AMR.
The suspect was later identified as Javion Holmes, 28. Police said they recovered a Glock-style replica handgun and money that is believed to belong to the business. Holmes is in stable condition and is expected to survive his injuries.
The officer involved in the shooting was identified as Ruben Meza.
Video of the incident can be found HERE.
WATCH ALSO:
