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Guard to face no charges in fatal shooting
He was defending himself when he fired at a car speeding toward him, killing a man, police say
By Ryan Lillis - Bee Staff Writers
Last Updated 7:04 pm PDT Friday, April 27, 2007
Story appeared in METRO section, Page B4
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A bullet hole is visible in the windshield of a car used by a suspect who police say tried to run down a security guard. The guard fired once, killing the driver. Sacramento Bee/Randy Pench
See additional images
A private security guard who shot and killed a 19-year-old man in a Sacramento apartment complex parking lot Monday morning was acting in self-defense and will not be arrested, police said.
The 19-year-old was killed after security guard Gregory Gass, 37, confronted him and two others as they broke into a car parked in the lot of a University Avenue apartment complex about 4 a.m., according to Sacramento Police Sgt. Matt Young.
Gass approached the men to detain them until officers arrived after seeing them break into the car, police said.
The three men got into a black Honda that was backed into a parking stall and the driver accelerated toward Gass, according to police.
As he tried to get away from the car, Gass fired one round through the windshield, striking the driver. The suspect's car slammed into two cars parked in the lot.
Gass was detained but later released, police said.
The driver died a few hours later, Young said. His name has not yet been released.
The two men with the driver -- George Cardenas and Patrick Goodman, both 19 -- were arrested on suspicion of burglary, Young said.
The incident is the second this month in which an alleged car burglar has been shot when caught in the act. In both instances, authorities said the shooting was justified.
Gass could not be reached for comment, but he is known by many tenants of the apartment complex and frequently escorts students to their apartments when they return late at night, said Charles Lash, assistant manager of the complex.
"His heart is into security," said Bob Carr, a contractor who has done kitchen and bathroom repairs at the facility for more than a year and often sees Gass on the job. "He takes his job very seriously and knows all the rules by heart."
Gass works for Wise Security, Lash said, and the complex has used the firm for about 2 1/2 years. Gass has patrolled the complex off and on for about two years, he said.
Lash said the apartment complex does not require that its security guards be armed. The facility houses about 300 tenants, most of whom are students at nearby California State University, Sacramento, and it uses security "to make sure the students are safe," Lash said.
From Jan. 1, 2006, to Feb. 28, police responded to 121 vehicle burglaries in the Campus Commons and Sierra Oaks neighborhoods surrounding the complex, according to Sacramento police crime data.
In that same time, police responded to 60 auto thefts, 186 total burglaries, 68 larcenies and 14 robberies, figures show.
Gass has a clean record with the state agency that regulates security guards and has held a security guard firearm permit with the state since 2005, said Kevin Flanagan, a spokesman for the Department of Consumer Affairs.
Gass also had a security guard's license from 1994 to 2003 and a firearm permit with the state from 1995 to 2003 before receiving a new license two years ago, Flanagan said.
Wise Security, which has been in business since 2002, has never been disciplined by the state's Bureau of Security and Investigative Services, the branch of Consumer Affairs that regulates security firms, Flanagan said. A telephone message left with the company was not returned.
There are 8,323 security guards licensed in Sacramento County, Flanagan said. The security bureau -- which also regulates private investigators and alarm company operators -- has issued 1,270 firearm permits in the county, most for security guards, according to Flanagan.
Security guards who wish to carry a firearm on the job must complete a 14-hour course that includes six hours on a firing range and also must have a clean criminal background. Guards must requalify for the weapons permit twice a year and must carry their weapons in plain view and only while on the job, Flanagan said.
"By and large, (the weapons certification process) is pretty good," he said. "I would be surprised if there was some sort of a problem with a licensed security guard."
The issue of deadly force has been a topic of conversation in Sacramento since a resident shot and wounded an alleged car burglar April 4.
Sou Saechin originally was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon in the shooting, but District Attorney Jan Scully later said he would not face charges because she needed his testimony against the suspects.
(Last updated time reflects a change in the story's system settings; content is the same as it was when published 4/27/2007)
Crime scene investigators from the Sacramento Police Department examine a Honda Accord following Monday's fatal shooting of a 19-year-old suspected car burglar by a security guard at a University Avenue apartment complex. It was the second shooting this month of an alleged car burglar. Sacramento Bee/Randy Pench
He was defending himself when he fired at a car speeding toward him, killing a man, police say
By Ryan Lillis - Bee Staff Writers
Last Updated 7:04 pm PDT Friday, April 27, 2007
Story appeared in METRO section, Page B4
Print | E-Mail | Comments (72)
A bullet hole is visible in the windshield of a car used by a suspect who police say tried to run down a security guard. The guard fired once, killing the driver. Sacramento Bee/Randy PenchSee additional images
A private security guard who shot and killed a 19-year-old man in a Sacramento apartment complex parking lot Monday morning was acting in self-defense and will not be arrested, police said.
The 19-year-old was killed after security guard Gregory Gass, 37, confronted him and two others as they broke into a car parked in the lot of a University Avenue apartment complex about 4 a.m., according to Sacramento Police Sgt. Matt Young.
Gass approached the men to detain them until officers arrived after seeing them break into the car, police said.
The three men got into a black Honda that was backed into a parking stall and the driver accelerated toward Gass, according to police.
As he tried to get away from the car, Gass fired one round through the windshield, striking the driver. The suspect's car slammed into two cars parked in the lot.
Gass was detained but later released, police said.
The driver died a few hours later, Young said. His name has not yet been released.
The two men with the driver -- George Cardenas and Patrick Goodman, both 19 -- were arrested on suspicion of burglary, Young said.
The incident is the second this month in which an alleged car burglar has been shot when caught in the act. In both instances, authorities said the shooting was justified.
Gass could not be reached for comment, but he is known by many tenants of the apartment complex and frequently escorts students to their apartments when they return late at night, said Charles Lash, assistant manager of the complex.
"His heart is into security," said Bob Carr, a contractor who has done kitchen and bathroom repairs at the facility for more than a year and often sees Gass on the job. "He takes his job very seriously and knows all the rules by heart."
Gass works for Wise Security, Lash said, and the complex has used the firm for about 2 1/2 years. Gass has patrolled the complex off and on for about two years, he said.
Lash said the apartment complex does not require that its security guards be armed. The facility houses about 300 tenants, most of whom are students at nearby California State University, Sacramento, and it uses security "to make sure the students are safe," Lash said.
From Jan. 1, 2006, to Feb. 28, police responded to 121 vehicle burglaries in the Campus Commons and Sierra Oaks neighborhoods surrounding the complex, according to Sacramento police crime data.
In that same time, police responded to 60 auto thefts, 186 total burglaries, 68 larcenies and 14 robberies, figures show.
Gass has a clean record with the state agency that regulates security guards and has held a security guard firearm permit with the state since 2005, said Kevin Flanagan, a spokesman for the Department of Consumer Affairs.
Gass also had a security guard's license from 1994 to 2003 and a firearm permit with the state from 1995 to 2003 before receiving a new license two years ago, Flanagan said.
Wise Security, which has been in business since 2002, has never been disciplined by the state's Bureau of Security and Investigative Services, the branch of Consumer Affairs that regulates security firms, Flanagan said. A telephone message left with the company was not returned.
There are 8,323 security guards licensed in Sacramento County, Flanagan said. The security bureau -- which also regulates private investigators and alarm company operators -- has issued 1,270 firearm permits in the county, most for security guards, according to Flanagan.
Security guards who wish to carry a firearm on the job must complete a 14-hour course that includes six hours on a firing range and also must have a clean criminal background. Guards must requalify for the weapons permit twice a year and must carry their weapons in plain view and only while on the job, Flanagan said.
"By and large, (the weapons certification process) is pretty good," he said. "I would be surprised if there was some sort of a problem with a licensed security guard."
The issue of deadly force has been a topic of conversation in Sacramento since a resident shot and wounded an alleged car burglar April 4.
Sou Saechin originally was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon in the shooting, but District Attorney Jan Scully later said he would not face charges because she needed his testimony against the suspects.
(Last updated time reflects a change in the story's system settings; content is the same as it was when published 4/27/2007)
About the writer:
- The Bee's Ryan Lillis can be reached at (916) 321-1085 or [email protected]. Bee staff writer Phillip Reese and Bee researcher Sheila A. Kern contributed to this report.
Crime scene investigators from the Sacramento Police Department examine a Honda Accord following Monday's fatal shooting of a 19-year-old suspected car burglar by a security guard at a University Avenue apartment complex. It was the second shooting this month of an alleged car burglar. Sacramento Bee/Randy Pench
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