An Orange County man on probation for resisting a police officer is now facing multiple felonies after he allegedly grabbed a police officer’s gun, fired a round and bit a sergeant as officers were trying to arrest him for refusing to obey repeated orders to leave the police department lobby, officials announced Wednesday.
Walter Sanchez, 29, of Fountain Valley, pleaded not guilty to charges of assault with a semiautomatic firearm on a peace officer, aggravated assault on a peace officer, two counts of obstructing or resisting an executive officer, grossly negligent discharge of a firearm — all felonies — and several misdemeanor counts, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
No one was injured by gunfire in the incident.
Prosecutors allege that about 9:54 a.m. Friday, Sanchez entered the lobby of the Fountain Valley Police Department, yelling and acting erratically when officers tried to speak with him. He paced back and forth for nearly 10 minutes, shouting at officers and desk staff and raising his hands toward the faces of law enforcement personnel, court papers show.
Officers walked Sanchez out of the lobby, telling him he needed to leave and that if he tried to enter the lobby again, he would be arrested.
Sanchez followed the officers back into the lobby, and when three officers approached to arrest him, he ran outside to the front of the police department, officials said.
When again told to leave, Sanchez allegedly placed his backpack on the ground and tried to remove something. As officers began to arrest Sanchez, Sanchez grabbed one of the officer’s guns, pulling the trigger and firing off a round, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. No one was hit by the bullet.
Sanchez is also accused of biting a Fountain Valley police sergeant who was assisting in the arrest. The sergeant used his Taser on Sanchez multiple times, and the defendant was finally taken into custody, officials said.
“A police badge should not be a target on the back of our law enforcement officers, our sworn protectors,” O.C. District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement.
“A willingness to attack a uniformed police officer, grab the officer’s gun and fire it in an attempt to avoid arrest shows a complete disregard for the rule of law and the safety of our communities, and we will prosecute those acts of violence to the fullest extent of the law. We are so grateful that these officers were not seriously injured in what could have easily turned into a deadly tragedy.”
Sanchez faces up to 31 years and eight months in state prison if convicted as charged, prosecutors said. Court papers show he is currently on felony probation after pleading guilty in August to resisting an executive officer.