A California man who allegedly shot a 21-year-old unarmed black man who was crossing the street said to him, “Oh, do you think you can get away?” Officials said Friday before firing a weapon and striking the young man in the back of the leg.
Det of the San Jose Police Department during a preliminary hearing.Jessica Lindenberg says the surviving victims shooting, said in an interview that on Oct. 2, 2022, he was staying at an Airbnb across the street from Mark Waters, 67. The victim, identified as El’hajj Bullock, was crossing the street to enter the sidewalk.
“[Bullock] At that moment, I believed I was being robbed,” Lindenberg said, noting that Block raised his hands to indicate it was empty, saying things like, “I don’t have anything.” He added that he said
Lindenberg testified that Bullock said Waters pulled up a gun and pointed it at his chest.
As he was running, he heard Waters say, “Oh, do you think you can run?”
Brock was taken to a local hospital and underwent surgery to repair a fractured femur, according to Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Aidan Welsh. Brock was still in pain as a result of the shooting, and Lindenberg testified that he was still on crutches and a wheelchair two months later.
Waters, who is currently in custody without bail, faces felony assault charges with a semi-automatic firearm that personally used a firearm in connection with the shooting and caused serious injury. attack. “Authorities also continue to investigate possible hate crime allegations, but prosecutors have made no additional charges or enhancements.
At Friday’s hearing, Jose Badiro, an attorney for both Wales and Waters, questioned Lindenberg and San Jose police officer Mitchell Magnano, who responded to the scene, about the investigation into the case.
Surveillance footage from a nearby residence that captured the shooting was also shown in court. According to police, the video showed Bullock attempting to flee Waters as the defendant moved towards him and fired his weapon, identified by Wales as a Glock He 22 semi-automatic pistol.
Badiro said Waters then went indoors, leaving the firearm in the house, and went to Block to call 911.
Magnano said Waters reported shooting someone he believed had broken into the home. However, according to authorities, surveillance footage showed Bullock was shot when he was on the street and not near the entrance to Waters’ home, the front lawn, or the driveway.
Lindenberg testified that Brock told police that he had checked into an Airbnb across the street from Waters’ house earlier that day. In custody, Waters told the officer who was holding him, “You can’t take back what I did. I was screwed.”
Waters told police he saw a set of headphones near the block after the shooting, claiming he mistakenly thought it was a firearm. Photos from the scene showed silver and white headphones, Lindenberg said.
“Have you seen white firearms?” said Welsh.
“Not in my experience,” Lindenberg testified.
While cross-examining detectives, Badiro attempted to introduce evidence that Waters called the police two days before the shooting. Badiro said the previous incident was ” [Waters’s] motivation. “Badillo also asked the court to allow him to show surveillance footage of an unidentified person looking into Waters’ car an hour before his shooting, but the Santa Clara County Superior Court’s Judge Sherina Brown barred him from doing so during the probable cause portion of the hearing.
Brown ultimately ruled that there was sufficient evidence to bring the case to a jury. Waters was arrested at the scene but was later released on pre-arraignment bail of $100,000, and it wasn’t until November that he was formally charged with the crime. During his arraignment on December 12, he was held without bail.
Badiro asked Waters to post bail and give him a chance to return home during the legal proceedings.
“He is 67 years old [and has] There are no records at all,” the lawyer said. “With his family’s support, I think the conditions will be in place to protect the community.”
Badiro told the court two days before the shooting that Waters’ car was broken into and his garage door left open, frightening his daughter who lived in the house. On the day of the shooting, Waters was alerted that someone was “trying to break into his car or home.”
“That’s why he has a firearm,” Badiro said, claiming that when Waters saw Bullock “come out of the darkness,” he was already alarmed.
Still, Badillo admitted that there was no proof that Bullock was “involved in what happened” at the Waters home, and that his client “could be wrong.”
Wales, however, said Waters’ actions clearly posed a public security threat, considering that, based on his statements, he knew Bullock was fleeing when he fired his weapon. claimed.
“The defendant opened fire on a residential street and could have hit anyone,” Welsh said.
He also noted that Bullock bears no resemblance to the unidentified person who looked into Waters’ car, citing the statement of the judge who oversaw an earlier hearing when there was a “racial motivation issue.” Quoted.
In an earlier incident where Waters reported a robbery, he called the police.”
“He wants to find the person,” the prosecutor said. “He wanted to take revenge on them or catch them, and that’s what led to this incident.”
“He shot him without asking any questions,” Welsh continued.
Brown decided not to change Waters’ bail, saying his actions raised “every level of public safety concern imaginable”.