Brett Kelman

The Desert Sun

Sammy Villarreal was shot after he accelerated backwards, hitting a police car, while trying to flee

Lawsuit claims shooting was unjustified, and officers erased footage that showed their wrongdoing

Third pending lawsuit against Indio police; previously sued for $1.9M by the same attorneys

The family of a young man who was killed by Indio police three months ago has filed a federal lawsuit against the city, claiming an officer shot the man without justification and deleted video footage to hide his wrongdoing.

The lawsuit alleges that the shooting of Sammy Villarreal was captured by both security cameras and a camera phone, but that Indio police officers seized the recordings and erased the footage. The suit is now the third ongoing lawsuit alleging excessive force by Indio police.

Villarreal, 18, of Thousand Palms, was shot during a slow-speed car chase in the parking lot of Christiansen Apartments on Shadow Palm Avenue in Indio on Oct. 14. Police have said that Villarreal tried to escape the lot by accelerating backwards, crashing into a police car, which prompted officers to open fire.

However, the family’s lawsuit contends the shooting was unjustified because no one was in the path of Villarreal’s vehicle. The two officers at the scene were standing to the sides and the front of the car.

The Indio Police Department declined to comment, saying that the shooting was still being investigated internally. The Riverside County Sheriff's Department, which is conducting a criminal investigation of shooting, also refused to make any comment. The District Attorney's Office said it had not yet reviewed the case because it was still in the hands of the sheriff's department.

Indio police have previously identified the officer who shot Villarreal as Cpl. Leonardo Perafan.

The shooting occurred at about 1 p.m. Officers went to the apartment complex while investigating a car theft case. While at the apartments, they saw a stolen vehicle drive into the parking lot, which is surrounded by apartments and fencing on three sides. Officer then tried to apprehend the driver, who was Villarreal. He then accelerated in reverse, striking a patrol car, then was shot, according to the sheriff’s department. Villarreal was taken to the emergency room of John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital, where he died half an hour after being shot. No officers were injured.

Police have never clarified if anyone was in the patrol car that was struck. They have also refused to say whether or not Villarreal had a weapon.

Witnesses have told The Desert Sun that there was a woman in the passenger seat of the stolen car during the shooting, but she has never been publicly identified.

The lawsuit claims that the shooting was recorded on apartment security cameras and the apartment manager’s cell phone, but that police seized and deleted the footage. Police have never said if the shooting was caught on tape.

Staff at Christiansen Apartments declined to comment on Monday, saying they were not allowed to speak to journalists.

However, a reporter who visited the apartment complex confirmed the buildings do have security cameras. Two cameras were within 30 feet of the shooting spot, which is still marked by a memorial of flowers and candles.

The Villarreal family is represented by David Kenner and Brett Greenfield, a pair of Encino-based lawyers who have successfully sued Indio police before.

These attorneys previously represented the family of Alejandro Rendon, 23, who was fatally shot as he fled from Indio Officer Alex Franco on Valentine’s Day in 2013. The Rendon family was awarded $1.9 million after a six-day trial.

Mourning for slain officer, Indio cop shot fleeing man

Kenner and Greenfield did not respond to interview requests.

Two other excessive force lawsuits are pending against Indio police. The department has been sued by the family of Ernest Foster, who was fatally shot by Officer Jeremy Hellawell during a foot chase on July 4, 2013. Witness have said that Foster had a handgun and attempted to point it at the pursing officer in the moments before he was shot.

Indio cop in fatal shooting: �I saw the gun clear as day�

The department was sued again in December by Ruben Martinez, a fleeing suspect who was beaten by Officers Charles Holloway and Gerardo Martinez in September 2014. The beating was caught on the security footage of a nearby restaurant, and both officers are currently facing felony charges in Riverside County Superior Court.

Indio police sued for caught-on-tape beatdown

Donald Cook, an attorney for Ruben Martinez, has said video will be the key to both the criminal case and the civil lawsuit.

“Having done this for 30 years, you never win a police case without the facts, but generally, even the facts are not enough,” Cook told The Desert Sun in December. “Because of the bias at the department, they tend to ignore reliable evidence. Video is much harder for them to ignore.”

Reporter Brett Kelman can be reached by phone at (760) 778-4642, by email at brett.kelman@desertsun.com, or on Twitter @TDSbrettkelman.