Vallejo police shoot, wound fleeing fugitive

Vallejo police shot a 20-year-old man multiple times in Martinez on Wednesday night when he attempted to evade arrest and escape by ramming into a patrol car, officials said.

The suspect, Kevin DeCarlo, who had a felony warrant out for his arrest, was seriously wounded in the confrontation — the second officer-involved shooting by the Vallejo Police Department in 2017, officials said.

Vallejo police had been searching for DeCarlo, who managed to evade arrest twice in the past week when officers thought they had him cornered, officials said.

On Wednesday, police received a tip that DeCarlo was at a home in the 4000 block of Ellis Road in Martinez, officials said. Officers surrounded the house about 11:30 p.m., and DeCarlo tried to get away again by ramming into an officer’s vehicle, officials said.

Officers perceived DeCarlo’s actions as a deadly threat and fired multiple shots as he tried to drive away, police said. It was not immediately clear how many officers

fired shots at DeCarlo.

DeCarlo sustained several wounds and was transported to a local hospital, where he was in serious condition, police said.

One Vallejo police officer had minor injuries and was treated at a hospital and released, police said.

The shooting came after DeCarlo avoided arrest twice in the past week, the last time on Saturday when he got away after ramming a police car in Vallejo and then fled on foot, police said. Two days earlier, police tried to stop DeCarlo in Vallejo when they saw him driving in a “severely reckless manner,” police said.

After DeCarlo escaped the first time, police secured an arrest warrant for felony charges of evading arrest with a bail amount of $100,000.

Wednesday’s shooting is being investigated by the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office, the Contra Costa County district attorney’s office and the Vallejo Police Department — which is standard protocol.

The shooting was the second involving Vallejo police this year. On Jan. 23, a police officer fatally shot a 21-year-old man who was in a fight with a 250-pound teenager after a drunken fracas broke out at a house party, officials said.

Family members identified the man as Angel Ramos, who was pronounced dead at the scene.