STOCKTON, Calif. (KCRA) – Authorities in California say a man’s attempt to achieve justice led him to accidentally shoot law enforcement.

It all happened last Thursday in San Joaquin County.

Deputies first responded to the alarm at the Pick-n-Pull store on Clark Drive in Stockton around 1:30 Thursday morning.

“There were three people running from the business into the yard, so we set up a perimeter around the business and we get our drone in the air, we bring our K-9s in and we try to catch the bad guys trying to steal something,” San Joaquin County Sheriff Patrick Withrow recounted. .

While deputies were taking their positions, a man who lived in the area called his grandson and said he saw three men running on his front porch.

“So he got in the golf cart with his assault rifle to help his grandfather, who called him and told him there were bad guys in his house,” Withrow said.

The sheriff says this was the suspect’s first mistake.

“Neither my grandfather nor he called law enforcement and said, ‘Hey, look. “Someone is at my grandfather’s house and I’m going to go there to protect my grandfather, I’m worried about his safety,” Withrow added.

The man then encountered what he thought were suspects from Pick-n-Pull, but they were actually deputies.

“All of a sudden someone from behind started shooting at them, and thankfully both officers were next to a concrete roller wall,” Withrow said.

The suspect fired two shots before the deputies had a chance to identify themselves.

“Instead of immediately returning fire, they began yelling for them to drop the firearm, which thankfully the individual did immediately,” the sheriff added.

While no one was injured in the incident, the suspect was detained.

“Thankfully, none of the charges at this time are murder or attempted murder. “Withrow is charged with assault with a deadly weapon,” he said.

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