Death by Cop 2021-2025
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Byron Ezell Hayes
Age : 34
Gender : Male
Race : Black
Date : 08/11/2022
Location : Westway Lane
City : Victorville
County : San Bernardino
State : California
Agency : San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department
Officer(s) :Chris Haas; Bela Lukacs; Eugene Mondragon; Jim Musgrave; Joshua Stone
Cause of Death : Gunshot
Event : Killed by police during investigation
OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :
On 08/11/2022, San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department deputies responded to a residence on Westway Lane in Victorville after receiving a domestic violence report involving 34-year-old Byron Ezell Hayes. Dispatch advised that Hayes had assaulted a woman, was armed with a handgun, and had barricaded himself inside the residence. Deputies established a perimeter and attempted to negotiate with Hayes as additional deputies responded.
During the standoff, Hayes exited the residence armed with a handgun. Deputies repeatedly ordered him to drop the weapon. According to the San Bernardino County District Attorney's review, Hayes raised the handgun toward deputies, prompting Deputies Chris Haas and Joshua Stone and Corporals Bela Lukacs, Eugene Mondragon, and Jim Musgrave to fire their service weapons. Hayes was struck multiple times. Deputies rendered medical aid until emergency medical personnel arrived, but Hayes died at the scene. A loaded semiautomatic handgun was recovered near his body.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department investigated the shooting, and the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office conducted an independent review. The District Attorney's Office concluded that the deputies' use of deadly force was lawful under California law and declined to file criminal charges. The public release memorandum, issued in 2025, found that the deputies reasonably believed Hayes posed an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury when he pointed the handgun in their direction.
SOURCE LINKS :
https://mynewsla.com/crime/2022/08/14/murder-suspect-wanted-in-la-killed-by-deputies-in-victorville/
