The Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety on Monday identified a 19-year-old suspect still being sought in connection with a fatal officer-involved shooting over the weekend.
Shawn Lamont Brown, a Fresno resident, is believed to be "armed and dangerous," Department of Public Safety Capt. Jeff Hunter said. Brown has an outstanding warrant for a homicide out of Fresno County, he added.
Around 4 p.m. Saturday, officers responded to a report of suspicious activity at Motel 6 at 806 W. Ahwanee Ave. just east of North Mathilda Avenue, Hunter said.
The person who reported the incident said two women kept going back and forth between a parked car and a room, Hunter said, adding that one woman was later found to be involved in prostitution.
According to Hunter, responding officers found three men inside a black Jaguar XF sedan, which matched the description of the vehicle reported to police. One man stayed in the car and complied with police while two fled, he said.
One of the fleeing suspects — later identified as Allen Matthew Baker III — ran south of the motel through a parking lot then turned to San Aleso Avenue, where officers saw him drop a high-capacity magazine with ammunition as he crossed the street, according to Hunter. [[322201712, C]]
Baker ended up behind a commercial complex and fled to nearby bushes when an officer in a patrol vehicle caught up with him, Hunter said.
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The officer stepped out of the vehicle and followed Baker, who he saw holding a handgun, and repeatedly ordered him to drop the weapon, Hunter said.
Baker did not obey and instead aimed the gun at the officer, who in return fired nine rounds at the suspect, according to Hunter. Baker and the officer were facing each other and were "less than 10 feet away from each other" during the shooting, he said.
Hunter said the still unidentified officer, who was fearful for his life, had no choice but to fire his weapon upon being "confronted with an armed suspect who pointed a firearm at [him]."
Additional officers were called to the scene to perform life-saving efforts on Baker, who was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Hunter.
Hunter said that Baker aimed a loaded 9 mm handgun at the officer, which was found near his body. Investigators found another loaded firearm in his backpack. Baker, 24, of San Diego had an outstanding no bail arrest warrant for robbery in San Diego County, he added.
The officer who fatally shot Baker is an 18-year veteran of the department and was placed on paid administrative leave, according to Hunter.
Hunter defended the officer's actions, saying he was responded appropriately to a "deadly force situation."
"We don’t want bad guys to have guns in their hands, if we can avoid it," he said. "It puts the public at risk, it puts law enforcement at risk doing their job."
The second suspect, identified by police as Brown, fled north on San Aleso Avenue into a commercial complex, Hunter said.
Emergency dispatchers received a 911 call soon after the shooting of an armed suspect who ran through a home on West Ferndale Avenue, Hunter said.
Officers spent over six hours combing the area for Brown with the assistance of other local agencies, including the California Highway Patrol and San Jose, Santa Clara and Palo Alto police departments, but were unable to find him, according to Hunter.
Brown was last seen wearing a red sweatshirt, Hunter said, adding that the suspect is believed to have fled from the Sunnyvale area.
The third suspect who stayed in the sedan was identified as 24-year-old Fresno resident Deshawn Hackett Jr., who had a $50,000 warrant for domestic violence-related charges out of San Diego County, Hunter said.
Hackett was arrested and booked into Santa Clara County Jail, according to Hunter.
Investigators later learned the three suspects and two women were associated with one another but they have not specified their relationships, he said.
Hunter noted that the department is cooperating with the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office, which will conduct an independent investigation into the shooting.
"The level of integrity in a shooting case is absolutely at the front of our concern," he said.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety at (408) 730-7110.
