The attorney for Pete Joseph Valdez III, the man accused of trying to shoot a Gilroy police officer in the face, told a judge last week that he wants potential police video footage before proceeding.
Valdez, 28, briefly appeared at the South County Courthouse in San Martin June 23 for the fifth time since his December arrest. Valdez's attorney, Berndt Ingo Brauer, petitioned the district attorney's office for relevant video evidence and communication records kept by the Gilroy Police Department related to Valdez's arrest.
Superior Court Judge Hector E. Ramon ordered GPD to preserve all electronic information in May, but confusion centered around inoperable and nonexistent cameras and possibly irrecoverable records. Even if the four patrol cars that responded to the incident last November did have cameras, the relevant video archives were removed as of February 2008, according to an e-mail Public Safety Systems Administrator Steve Baty sent to GPD Sgt. Jim Gillio at the same time.
In turn, "I have sent an e-mail to the involved officers to determine if their cameras were even working. If they were working, it looks like we will have an issue getting the video," Gillio responded to the evidence request initiated by Deputy District Attorney Mark Hood on behalf of Brauer, Valdez's attorney. Hood, Gillio and Brauer did not return messages Monday.
Among a laundry list of requests before the preliminary hearing takes place, Brauer has also included the operation and maintenance histories of the department's cameras, permission to inspect the relevant vehicles and any hard drive that stored potential videos along with the upkeep log for the storage device.
Valdez faces felony charges of attempted murder of a police officer, assault of a police officer with a firearm, being a felon in possession of a gun, and delaying or resisting a police officer. If convicted of these charges Valdez, who has been denied bail, would spend the rest of his life in prison.
About 3 a.m. Nov. 15, Gilroy police officer John Ballard - who did not have a camera in his car, according to Sgt. Gillio - noticed Valdez biking east on West Eighth Street without a headlight and on the wrong side of the road, police said. When Ballard tried to stop him, Valdez took off.
Ballard caught up with Valdez a few blocks later and a foot chase ensued, police said. During the pursuit, Valdez punched and kicked the officer, then pulled a .25-caliber semiautomatic handgun loaded with seven hollow-point bullets. Valdez aimed the gun at Ballard's face and repeatedly pulled the trigger, but the gun jammed and did not fire.
Ballard resumed fighting with Valdez while another officer arrived and helped subdue and arrest Valdez. In an interview after the incident, Valdez said he pulled the gun in hopes that an officer would shoot and kill him.
"I don't want to live," said a crying Valdez after he was apprehended, according to court records.
Valdez - the son of former 16-year Gilroy councilman Pete Valdez Jr. - has 10 prior convictions including three felony convictions for a strong-arm robbery.
Chris Bone Chris Bone covers Gilroy government for South Valley Newspapers. Reach him at 847-7109 or e-mail him.
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