An auto-theft suspect who was wounded by police gunfire in San Diego last week — for the second time in 20 years — was behind bars Wednesday and facing a slate of criminal charges.
Justin Ray Teague, 39, allegedly prompted Officer Joseph Lee to shoot him by pulling a gun on patrol personnel in a neighborhood near Doyle Community Park, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, which investigates police shootings in San Diego under the terms of a countywide agreement.
Teague was hospitalized for treatment of several bullet wounds, sheriff’s Lt. Joseph Jarjura said. On Tuesday afternoon, he was released from medical care and booked into San Diego Central Jail on a slate of felony charges, including burglary, attempted auto theft and attempted murder of a police officer.
The events that led to the law enforcement shooting began shortly after 3 a.m. Friday, when police got a report that two men were breaking into vehicles at an apartment complex in the 3400 block of Lebon Drive.
Police searched the area, finding Teague and the second suspect inside a stolen car, according to Jarjura. When the officers ordered the pair to exit the vehicle and surrender, they jumped out and ran off, the lieutenant said.
During an ensuing foot chase, Teague allegedly turned and pointed a gun at the officers, at which point Lee opened fire on him.
“It appeared that (the suspect) fired at least one round at (the officers),” Jarjura said.
The other suspect remained unidentified and at large Wednesday.
It was the second time that Teague, a felon with convictions dating back several decades, was wounded by police gunfire in San Diego.
On the evening of Nov. 8, 2003, Teague — then 19 years old and the subject of two outstanding arrest warrants — rammed a San Diego Police Department cruiser with a stolen car at a gas station at Clairemont Mesa Boulevard and Kearny Villa Road in Kearny Mesa, then accelerated toward an officer who was on foot, according to SDPD officials.
That officer and a pair of his colleagues responded by opening fire on the suspect, leaving him with two gunshot wounds to his upper body.
Despite his injuries, Teague drove off, fleeing for a short distance before crashing the vehicle into a retaining wall alongside the northbound side of state Route 163, where he was taken into custody, SDPD Sgt. Jorge Duran said at the time.
That same year, Teague was convicted of burglary. He went on to be sentenced for auto theft in 2004 and, in 2017, was convicted of receiving a stolen car, committing identity theft and recklessly fleeing from police in a vehicle, Jarjura said.
Last month, Teague was arrested on suspicion of auto theft, evading police, reckless driving and possession of a stolen vehicle. He posted bail that same day and was released on bond, the sheriff’s lieutenant said.
Updated at 6:34 p.m. August 16, 2023
–City News Service
