An ex-con who allegedly fired off a pistol at a gas station in the eastern San Diego County highlands and then refused to surrender to deputies, prompting them to forcibly arrest him, was behind bars Wednesday and facing a slate of criminal charges.
Martimiano Villa Patino, 34, allegedly discharged several rounds inside a mini-market at Ramco Petroleum in the 30300 block of state Route 78 in Santa Ysabel for unknown reasons about 8:45 p.m. Tuesday, sheriff’s Lt. Matthew Carpenter said.
Following the non-injury shooting, an employee of the gas station locked himself inside another room and called 911, Carpenter said.
When deputies arrived, Patino walked out of the market but refused to comply with their orders to give himself up peaceably. The personnel were able to take him into custody a short time later, after zapping him with an electric stun gun, shooting him with a beanbag-firing shotgun and unleashing a service dog on him, the lieutenant said.
Patino was evaluated at a hospital before being booked into county jail in Vista on suspicion of assault with a firearm, unlawful discharge of a gun, being a felon in possession of a firearm and other criminal counts. He was being held on $100,000 bail pending arraignment, scheduled for Friday afternoon.
It was unclear what prompted the gunfire, Carpenter said.
–City News Service
