A San Benito County sheriff’s deputy was involved in a shooting
at the intersection of Highway 156 and Fairview Road on Sunday.
Around 1 a.m., K-9 Deputy Sheriff Adam Lobdell witnessed a
vehicle driven by Salinas resident Jose Jimenez broadside a pick-up
truck with two male occupants, said Sheriff Curtis Hill.
Upon exiting his car to offer assistance, he saw Jimenez get out
of his vehicle and immediately charge him, Hill said.
A San Benito County sheriff’s deputy was involved in a shooting at the intersection of Highway 156 and Fairview Road on Sunday.
Around 1 a.m., K-9 Deputy Sheriff Adam Lobdell witnessed a vehicle driven by Salinas resident Jose Jimenez broadside a pick-up truck with two male occupants, said Sheriff Curtis Hill.
Upon exiting his car to offer assistance, he saw Jimenez get out of his vehicle and immediately charge him, Hill said.
“(Lobdell) didn’t realize what he had,” Hill said. “The suspect has a 20-year history of mental illness.”
Jimenez, 43, was very aggressive and pushy, and as Lobdell continually asked him to slow down he pulled out a folding knife he had sheathed in his belt, Hill said.
Jimenez waved it around and then threw it at Lobdell, Hill said.
“(Lobdell) pepper sprayed him to no effect, he just wiped it off his face,” Hill said. “Then (Jimenez) gets back in his car, which was still running, and starts spinning the tires in the middle of the road, circling around the deputy… attempting to run him down.”
Lobdell jumped out of the way and fired several rounds at the car. Three shots hit the hood and one struck the driver’s side windshield, but none of them hit Jimenez, he said.
Jimenez then lost control of the car and it slid down an embankment into a ditch. Jimenez got out of the car and began climbing up the embankment.
“He was angry,” Hill said. “At that time the deputy hit the door release and the dog took him down.”
Jack, a 4-year-old German Shepherd, bit Jimenez on the hand, inner thigh and ankle. Lobdell then took him into custody, Hill said.
“He followed all the procedures,” Hill said. “He used tremendous restraint relative to the use of force, up to the use of lethal force.”
Hollister Police Officers, California Highway Patrol and several other Sheriff’s Deputies responded to Lobdell’s calls for assistance, Hill said.
Jimenez was taken to Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital and treated for the dog bites, then released to the San Benito County Jail.
He was arrested for attempted murder, assault on a peace officer, assault with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest and assaulting a law enforcement dog, according to a sheriff’s department-issued statement.
“Now you’re getting into the state of how the mentally ill are handled,” Hill said. “A lot of these people are out in the community and are slipping through the cracks.”
The two male occupants of the pick-up truck were unharmed, as were Lobdell and Jack, Hill said.
Details pertaining to the case are pending investigation.
