A judge at the Banning Justice Center issued an arrest warrant Wednesday for a convicted felon who was shot by a San Jacinto storekeeper trying to stop him and a boy from allegedly stealing merchandise.
Juan Miguel Macias, 42, was arrested in March after the confrontation that left him with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound.
Macias was free on his own recognizance while the case was reviewed by the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. A criminal complaint charging him with conspiracy to commit a felony was filed earlier this month, and sheriff’s investigators sought a warrant for his arrest, which Superior Court Judge Jorge Hernandez signed.
Late on the morning of March 12, the defendant and a 16-year-old boy, whose name was withheld, went to the SBBA Smoke Shop near the intersection of Seventh Street and South San Jacinto Avenue, where the youth grabbed several boxes of butane and headed out of the door without paying, sheriff’s Sgt. Robert Duckett alleged.
Macias allegedly got behind the wheel of the pair’s getaway car, and the teen ran to the passenger side of the vehicle with the shopkeeper, 53-year-old Nabeel Qandah of San Jacinto, close behind, armed with a handgun, Duckett said.
Qandah yelled at the defendant to stop and opened fire when Macias allegedly did not comply. Macias was struck in the left arm and sped away. The boy was not hit, according to sheriff’s officials.
The defendant and youth were arrested that afternoon at a hospital, where Macias went for emergency treatment, authorities said.
Qandah was also arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, but he immediately posted bail and was released from custody. Prosecutors have not filed charges against him.
The status of the teen’s case was unclear.
According to court records, Macias has prior convictions for domestic violence and possession of controlled substances while armed with a gun.