A defendant wasn’t trying to murder a Vallejo police officer when he drove a car into the officer during a burglary this summer, a judge said Tuesday.
Following two days of preliminary examination, Judge Robert Bowers found probable cause that 30-year-old Jamazea Kittell committed assault or assault on a police officer June 27 when he hit Officer Brad Kim with a Dodge Charger. But he found no merit to the prosecution’s claim that Kittell – who, according to expert testimony,“I don’t think there is sufficient cause to hold him to answer for an attempted murder. I don’t see it,” Bowers said in Solano County Superior Court.
“It will be up to the jury to decide whether he was using that vehicle to get away regardless of whether somebody is in front of him,” he said.Kim arrived at the scene of a burglary at a Springs Road gas station around 4 a.m. June 27 to find “at least three to four people” fleeing the business, the officer testified in September.
Body camera footage shows Kim later confronting Kittell – accusing the suspect, who received stitches around his nostrils after the incident, of trying to run him over.Video analysis showed that mere fractions of a second passed between Kim crossing the front of Kittell’s vehicle, the vehicle colliding with the officer and the officer lifting his gun and shooting the suspect in the face.
“If want to see it as dangerous and unjustified, fine. If they want to see it as a brave and heroic act, fine,” Deputy Public Defender Nick Filloy said in court.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Light rain returns to Bay Area, mostly in the North BayPortions of the Bay Area woke up today to wet conditions as another round of light rain was passing through the region, with an additional chance of rain forecast for the end of the week.
Read more »
Bay Area restaurants charge $50 'vomit fee' for guests taking bottomless mimosas too farA couple of restaurants in Oakland and San Francisco have found a remedy for patrons losing their brunch after one too many mimosas.
Read more »
How climate change affects Indigenous Bay AreaMembers of 12 Bay Area tribes discuss the impact of climate change on their longstanding relationships with the land
Read more »
High school football rankings Week 8, 2023: Bay Area News Group Top 25Los Gatos returns to the top 10. Several other teams move up slightly. Antioch enters the rankings.
Read more »
High school girls volleyball rankings: Bay Area News Group Top 15Archbishop Mitty and St. Francis swap places, Menlo School enters the rankings, Foothill continues its rise
Read more »
Three spooky Bay Area bars to explore this Halloween seasonCatch spooky vibes — and great drinks — at a cavern tavern in Oakland, a tiki-slinging plane wreck in San Francisco and a subterranean speakeasy in San Mateo.
Read more »