{"id":177545,"date":"2026-02-14T05:15:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T05:15:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/177545\/"},"modified":"2026-02-14T05:15:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T05:15:10","slug":"berkeley-tesla-stun-gun-waver-shot-in-later-standoff-exonerated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/177545\/","title":{"rendered":"Berkeley Tesla stun gun waver, shot in later standoff, exonerated"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Berkeley police arrest Ricardo Ruiz on March 22 shortly after he activated his stun gun during an an anti-Trump protest in front of the Tesla dealership on Fourth Street. Credit: Frances Dinkelspiel for Berkeleyside<\/p>\n

Ricardo Gonzalez Ruiz, whom a police officer shot in April<\/a> after an armed standoff, has been exonerated in an earlier, separate case from when he whipped out a stun gun at a political protest outside the Berkeley Tesla dealership<\/a> on Fourth Street last March.<\/p>\n

A jury found Ruiz, 34<\/a>, not guilty of a single misdemeanor count of assault Monday after a six-day trial, according to court records. A second misdemeanor count, of exhibiting a deadly weapon, was previously dismissed due to insufficient evidence.<\/p>\n

The protest, against Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who was at the time the head of the unofficial Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), had drawn hundreds of people; Ruiz, an avowed supporter of President Donald Trump, rode his bike to the event to counter-protest, playing music over speakers.<\/p>\n

\"\"Susan Kegeles pulls the hair of Ricardo G. Ruiz, a Berkeley Trump supporter, after brought out a stun gun during a protest Saturday in front of the Tesla showroom on Fourth Street. Credit: A. Mark Liiv<\/a><\/p>\n

Several protesters tried to shoo Ruiz away. When Berkeleyan Susan Kegeles approached him, he pulled out a stun gun, flashing it near her face. Kegeles told Berkeleyside she tried to pull Ruiz off his bike; he grabbed her arm, and she pulled his hair, she said.<\/p>\n

The Berkeley Scanner, which followed the trial closely<\/a>, reported that Ruiz\u2019s attorney, Amber Vincent, said Ruiz had acted only in self-defense.<\/p>\n

Ruiz remains in custody at the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin on $250,000 bail as his other, more serious case moves forward. He is facing 11 felony counts: five of exhibiting a firearm in the presence of a police officer, four of assault on an officer and two of unlawful firearm activity. His public defender in that case has sought a mental health diversion for Ruiz, which is still under consideration.<\/p>\n

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