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Jesse Glen Nelson

Age : 43

Gender : Male

Race : Latino/a/e

Date : 08/28/2023

Location : 500 block of Iona Drive

City : San Diego

County : San Diego

State : California

Agency : San Diego Police Department

Officer(s) :Darwin Anderson; Matthew Steinbach

Cause of Death : Gunshot

Event : Killed by police during SWAT standoff following domestic homicide

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/28/2023, at approximately 8:42 p.m., the San Diego Police Department received multiple 911 calls reporting gunfire at a residence in the 500 block of Iona Drive in San Diego's Encanto neighborhood. Officers from SDPD's Southeastern Division were dispatched and arrived within minutes.
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The first responding officers found 74-year-old Maria Rosario Morales and a dog lying in the driveway with multiple gunshot wounds. Morales was later identified as the mother of 43-year-old Jesse Glen Nelson. Police alleged that Nelson had shot his mother and two dogs before officers arrived. Morales and one dog died from their injuries, and investigators subsequently found a second dog dead at the property.
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As officers approached Morales and the wounded dog to provide aid, police alleged that Nelson opened fire on them from inside the residence. SDPD Officer Darwin Anderson returned fire toward the house and then helped coordinate an emergency effort to remove Morales from the driveway. Police reported coming under additional gunfire from inside the residence while carrying out the rescue.
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Officers established a perimeter, evacuated nearby residences and requested the SDPD Special Weapons and Tactics team. During the ensuing standoff, police repeatedly ordered Nelson to surrender. According to investigators, Nelson continued firing from the residence and eventually set fire to the garage.
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SDPD SWAT Officer Matthew Steinbach, serving as a sniper, positioned himself on the roof of a nearby residence. According to the later San Diego County District Attorney review, the on-scene SWAT commander authorized Steinbach to use deadly force unless Nelson was observed unarmed and actively surrendering and was not attempting to break through the police perimeter.
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Police alleged that Nelson subsequently emerged or moved toward the front of the burning residence while carrying a rifle and moving in the direction of officers positioned outside. From his sniper position, Steinbach fired at Nelson, striking him in the back.
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Officers provided medical aid before Nelson was transported to a hospital. He was pronounced dead at approximately 10:58 p.m. The Medical Examiner determined that Nelson died from gunshot wounds and classified the manner of death as homicide.
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Investigators recovered multiple firearms from the residence, including a rifle, shotgun and handgun. The San Diego County Sheriff's Department Homicide Unit conducted the investigation into the police gunfire under the countywide protocol for investigating shootings by law-enforcement officers.
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The San Diego County District Attorney's Office subsequently reviewed both Anderson's initial gunfire and Steinbach's fatal shooting. In August 2024, prosecutors announced that neither officer would face criminal charges. The DA concluded that Anderson's decision to fire after police allegedly came under gunfire was legally justified and that Steinbach reasonably perceived Nelson as presenting an imminent threat when he fired the fatal shot.
OFFICER BACKGROUND:
Darwin Anderson joined the San Diego Police Department in September 2021 and was assigned to the Southeastern Division when Nelson was killed. Anderson was the first officer to exchange gunfire with Nelson while officers were attempting to reach Morales in the driveway. Anderson's rounds were not identified as the gunfire that ultimately killed Nelson.
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Matthew Steinbach had served with SDPD for approximately 11 years at the time Nelson was killed and was assigned to the Western Division and SWAT. Steinbach was the SWAT sniper who fired the fatal shot that struck Nelson in the back.
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Steinbach had been involved in an earlier police shooting on 01/03/2019. SDPD officers responded to a Midway District apartment after a 911 call concerning 23-year-old Ryan Bowers, who had reportedly cut his own throat. Police alleged that Bowers subsequently produced a knife and moved toward officers. Steinbach fired, striking Bowers at least once. Bowers survived the shooting despite initially suffering life-threatening injuries.
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Steinbach was subsequently involved in another fatal SDPD shooting on 05/28/2024, approximately nine months after killing Nelson. During that incident near Friars Road, police pursued a man armed with a knife who allegedly took another man hostage and held the knife to his neck. Steinbach and SDPD Officers Michael Howells and Justin Tellam fired, killing the man.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://fox5sandiego.com/news/local-news/suspect-barricaded-in-encanto-house-by-san-diego-police/
https://timesofsandiego.com/crime/2023/08/29/police-fatally-shoot-man-suspected-of-gunning-down-mother-dogs-in-encanto/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpuSxBUBINA&t=15s
https://www.sdsheriff.gov/Home/Components/News/News/2188/514?arch=1&npage=36
https://www.sdsheriff.gov/Home/Components/News/News/2198/514?arch=1&npage=35
https://www.sandiego.gov/sites/default/files/20230829_police_investigate_homicide_in_encanto_and_officer_involved_shooting.pdf
https://timesofsandiego.com/crime/2024/08/23/nine-local-law-enforcement-officers-cleared-in-seven-shootings/
https://www.sandiego.gov/sites/default/files/press_release_01-07-19_ois_midway_distict_3100_cauby_st_officer_and_subject_id.pdf
https://www.sdsheriff.gov/Home/Components/News/News/2758/514?arch=1