Judge Grants Trial in San Bernardino Sheriff Helicopter Shooting

On February 1, 2019, Judge Donna Garza, of the San Bernardino Superior Court, gave the Villegas family the green light to proceed to trial by denying the County of San Bernardino’s Motion for Summary Judgement.  Judge Garza specifically noted that the San Bernardino Sheriff Deputies in a police helicopter increased the risk of harm to the public when they shot 84 rounds onto the 210 Freeway while pursuing a fleeing suspect, who was driving the wrong way on the shoulder of the road. V. James DeSimone, Attorney for the Villegas family, emphasized that shooter Deputy Kowalski admitted that he knew that by shooting the suspect, he would likely lose control of his vehicle, crashing into other vehicles, possibly killing someone. And, predictably, that is exactly what happened here. When Deputy Kowalski shot and killed the suspect, his Chevy Tahoe truck went careening into the freeway, crashing head on into the Dodge Durango, driven by Jose Villegas. The crash caused catastrophic injuries to Jose, Maria and Aldo Villegas. Aldo Villegas, 13 years old at the time of the accident and suffering from a prior disability, has not been able to walk since the accident. V. James DeSimone Law, along with Bohm Law Group, looks forward to achieving justice when trial is scheduled to commence on February 17, 2019.

Prior Press:

• CBS
• San Bernardino Sun

Original Press Release:

• NewsWire

V. James DeSimone

Attorney V. James DeSimone is a 35+ year experienced civil rights & employment lawyer in Southern California. Jim is a Super Lawyer, Rated “Superb” by Avvo, and is a US News & World Report Best Law Firm in California.