A Fresno family has filed a lawsuit against the state parole officer who shot and killed their son and brother while he was unarmed on Christmas Eve last year, the family’s attorney said Wednesday.
Jeremy Raul Sanchez, 26, was killed in a confrontation with the parole officer outside his mother’s home on Dec. 24, 2024, in the 1200 block of Cortland Avenue. Relatives at the home said the officer would not tell them why he was there to meet Sanchez, according to Stuart Chandler, the family’s attorney.
His mother, Lisa Medina, and his siblings saw parole officer Jorge Lopez using pepper spray on Sanchez, who fled the officer across the home’s lawn northwest of Blackstone and Shields avenues, Chandler said.
He said the officer fired three rounds that struck the unarmed Sanchez from behind, including one that went through his left cheek, shattering teeth and striking a major artery.
“Whatever his responsibility may have been that day, and whether it was some intentional conduct by himself to harass Jeremy, or whether he had some other reason to be there it was clearly grossly mishandled,” Chandler said. “Once it began to escalate, it’s the officer’s responsibility to de-escalate instead of escalate.”
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation declined to comment, which is typical for ongoing litigation.
Family including Medina, a nurse with the state CDCR, attempted life-saving efforts, but Sanchez did not survive, Chandler said.
Sanchez had served time in prison and was most recently arrested for failure to comply with a parole officer, Chandler said. Sanchez also lived with lifelong mental health issues, which were known by the parole officer, according to Chandler.
“It’s just horribly unjustified for a parole officer, any parole officer, to have a combative confrontation with somebody suffering mental illness,” Chandler said.
Chandler said state investigators have not cooperated with his office so he does not know why Lopez, who has about 14 years of experience, was at the home on Christmas Eve. Sanchez did not have a meeting scheduled and appeared to be in good standing with his parole.
A Ring doorbell camera from across the street shows the officer jogging to his car after the shooting, but it’s unclear why, Chandler said. The camera also captured Sanchez’s grandmother screaming.
Fresno police conducted the initial investigation, describing the interaction as a fight between Sanchez and Lopez.
Police said the shooting took place at about 12:30 p.m. that day, when the department’s electronic ShotSpotter picked up three rounds in the 1200 block Cortland Avenue.
Officers arrived and attempted life-saving efforts, but the man died at the scene, police previously said. They said the parole officer was injured, but expected to be OK.
The state Department of Justice launched its own investigation into the shooting, which is typical of any use-of-force on an unarmed person. The DOJ’s website notes the case is still under investigation.
Jeremy Raul Sanchez, 26, in an undated photo, who was fatally shot Dec. 24, 2024, by a probation officer in Fresno. His family has filed a lawsuit against the officer and the state.
A state parole officer allegedly shot and killed a parolee following a fight in the 1200 block of Cortland Avenue in Fresno, California on Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024.
Officers and the family of Jeremy Raul Sanchez, 26, make life-saving efforts after Sanchez was shot Dec. 24, 2024, by a state probation officer in Fresno, according to the family attorney.