MODESTO, Calif. — A Modesto Police officer is in critical condition following a chase and shootout at a home on the east side of the city overnight on Saturday.
In a Sunday evening update, Police Chief Brandon Gillespie identified the officer as Michael Rokaitis, a seven-year veteran of the department. He said the injured officer remains in critical but stable condition after having been in surgery for several hours.
Investigators say the incident started after an officer spotted a motorcyclist driving recklessly near W. Orangeburg Avenue and Enslen Avenue around 10 p.m. on Saturday. When the officer tried to pull the motorcycle over, the driver took off.
The Stanislaus County Sheriff’s helicopter joined the chase and followed the motorcyclist to a home in the 3100 block of E. Orangeburg Avenue. When officers on the ground arrived, the suspect exited the home and surrendered.
Arresting officers searched the suspect and found he was in possession of drugs for the purpose of sales, police said. Based on that evidence, officers were able to obtain a search warrant to come back and search the home. However, when they entered the house to begin their search, another suspect inside started shooting, striking one of the officers. According to Chief Gillespie, the officer was shot in the abdomen. The other officers returned fire and injured the suspect.
Just after 2 p.m., police identified the suspected shooter as 42-year-old Jesse James Brooks.
The injured officer was rushed from the scene to a local hospital where he is listed in critical but stable condition. In their 2 p.m. update, the officer's condition had not changed. His identity has not yet been released. No other officers were injured in the shootout.
Brooks received only minor injuries in the shootout. He was treated and released from a local hospital back into police custody. Brooks was booked into the Stanislaus County Jail on three complaints of attempted murder of a police officer and other weapons charges.
This investigation is ongoing. So far, authorities have not said what prompted the shooting or what else was inside the home. It is unclear how the motorcyclist and the shooter know each other.