The Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office released a report Friday outlining its investigation into the non-fatal officer-involved shooting of Francisco Gomez Solano back in December 2022. The investigation found Santa Maria Police Officer Mason Jackson justified in his use of force.
According to Solano's own testimony, he had been smoking methamphetamine and drinking tequila when he and a friend decided to rob a store on the evening of December 15, 2022. After running away from the store, Solano lost his friend and used a pellet gun to carjack a 19-year-old woman. She was unable to discern the replica gun from a real firearm, and the report mentions that there were no markings to indicate otherwise, such as an orange tip.
The victim promptly contacted law enforcement, and Officer Ruben Peinado was the first to spot the vehicle at the intersection of College Avenue and Main Street. Solano eventually crashed the vehicle in the 7-Eleven parking lot on S. Railroad Avenue.
According to the report, Officer Peinado parked his car near the crashed vehicle and Officer Mason Jackson arrived shortly after. Solano then rolled down the tinted, driver-side window, revealing that he was holding a gun to his temple. The report says that the driver’s door was too damaged to open, so Solano climbed out through the window, keeping the gun to his head. Officer Jackson grabbed his AR-15 rifle from his patrol vehicle and took position behind Officer Peinado’s vehicle.
Through his rifle’s magnified sight, Officer Jackson said he watched Solano as he moved the gun away from his temple and pointed it in the direction of the officers before placing the barrel in his mouth. In the moment that the gun was pointed at the officers, Officer Jackson said he believed that Solano was going to fire, so he fired one shot with his AR-15 hitting Solano in the lower face/neck area. Solano ran away, but the officers were able to apprehend him in a nearby mechanic’s shop. The full incident can be seen in a video released by the Santa Maria Police Department.
Solano was sentenced to five years in state prison in April 2023 after pleading guilty to one count of carjacking and using a weapon in the commission of the crime.
The report goes into detail regarding the district attorney's decision that Officer Jackson bears no criminal liability. Factors in the decision included the lack of any markings on the gun to indicate that it was a pellet gun, and Officer Jackson’s improved eyesight because of his magnified rifle sight.
“Any reasonable law enforcement officer in the same situation as Officer Jackson would perceive Solano’s actions as an immediate lethal threat to themselves and others in the immediate vicinity,” the report said.
