Lisa B. McPheron
The Press Enterprise
Copyright 2006 The Press Enterprise, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
A Fontana police officer acted appropriately when he shot and wounded a man armed with a loaded shotgun on March 18, the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office said Monday.
Officer John Garcia encountered Domenic Lee Rabone, 39, of Fontana, while investigating a call about a disturbance at 1:18a.m. at the Loveland apartment complex where Rabone’s ex-girlfriend was staying, according to a report written by Ben Gonzales, the supervising deputy district attorney at the Fontana branch.
When the officer attempted to contact Rabone, he ran off and ducked into some bushes.
“Rabone came out of hiding with a loaded 12-gauge shotgun held at shoulder level and obviously in a position to fire at the officer,” Gonzales stated in his report.
On March 17, Rabone took the shotgun from his brother’s home and said he was going to kill someone, according to the report. That day, Fontana police officers contacted Rabone’s ex-girlfriend Terry Ihde about the threats and attempted to find him several hours before the officer-involved shooting.
Rabone told investigators he was not armed when he was shot. However, according to Gonzales’ report, Rabone’s statements had “little credibility” because eyewitnesses saw him with the weapon and it was found by his side.
June 6, 2006