A 35-year-old shooting suspect who remains behind bars after an officer-involved shooting in South Los Angeles last week has been identified by police, who also revealed more information about the incident.
No one was hit by gunfire in the OIS, which was reported a little after 7 p.m. on March 19 in the area of 22nd Street and Griffith Avenue, just south of downtown, according to Officer Rosario Herrera of the Los Angeles Police Department.
In a statement issued Friday, police said the incident began around 6:50 p.m. March 19 when LAPD Metro Officers Josue Osorio and his unidentified partner were patrolling in an unmarked car in the Newton Division area, according to the LAPD. They heard a radio report of a shooting near Washington Boulevard and Griffith that described the suspect’s vehicle as a white van.
On their way to the location, they spotted a white van driving south and made a U-turn. The vehicle then stopped and the officers got out of their car and spotted who they thought was the suspect, a man police later identified as Eric Vaquero.
Vaquero was walking alongside his van with a gun in his hand, according to police. Osorio then fired at the suspect but did not hit him. Vaquero allegedly got back into his van and drove a short distance east on 22nd Street before stopping again. The officers then initiated a “high-risk” vehicle stop and Vaquero surrendered to Osorio and his partner, police said.
Vaquero’s loaded handgun was allegedly found inside the van. He did not fire at the officers.
The OIS was being investigated by the LAPD’s Force Investigation Division and the Office of the Inspector General.
Vaquero was being held at the North County Correctional Facility in Castaic in lieu of $2.225 million bail, according to L.A. County Jail records.
His next scheduled court appearance is at the downtown L.A. Superior Court on April 11.