Man shot by officer had been deported

By Jamie Hansen
ARGUS-COURIER STAFF
Published: Wednesday, November 30, 2011 at 3:55 p.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, November 30, 2011 at 3:55 p.m.

A Petaluma man shot and killed by a Sebastopol police officer had been deported three times following arrests for various crimes, the Argus-Courier has learned.

Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman for ICE, confirmed that Pablo Perez Ramirez had been deported from the United States three times — first in December 2007, based on an order from an Arizona immigration judge. Seven months later, in July of 2008, he was once again deported. And in April 2010, Perez was deported by ICE, following an arrest and incarceration by local authorities.

Perez, from Mexico, never had lawful status in the United States and returned here illegally after each deportation, according to Kice.

Santa Rosa police said that Perez's record included an arrest in 2005 for carrying a loaded firearm and in 2007 for driving under the influence of alcohol. He was also arrested for resisting a peace officer in 2008, though that charge was dismissed.

After the 2007 and 2008 incidents and a 2010 incident, local authorities placed Perez in custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Perez, 25, was shot before noon on Thanksgiving Day, outside his ex-girlfriend's apartment on Fellers Lane in Sebastopol, said Santa Rosa police. They've taken over investigating the incident as part of a county-wide protocol that is invoked in instances like this one.

Police say that Perez's ex-girlfriend had called the Sebastopol police to report that she was alone in her apartment and that Perez was pounding on the back door. Perez moved to the front door while the woman was on the phone with Sebastopol dispatchers.

The Sebastopol Police Department dispatched two officers, said Santa Rosa Police, and Officer Dennis Colthurst, a 31 year veteran of the police department, arrived just two minutes after being dispatched. He encountered Perez, alone, before the other officer arrived and while the woman was still in her apartment.

The following happened next, according to the Santa Rosa police: Colthurst found Perez standing at the top of a staircase. He asked Perez to come down, but Perez only went part of the way before stopping. Perez refused to follow commands and then brandished a handgun at the officer. Then Colthurst fired at Perez three times, hitting him each time.

Authorities later pronounced Perez dead at the scene.

Once the investigation is complete, said Santa Rosa Police Lt. Craig Schwartz, the police will forward their report to the District Attorney's office.

Currently the department has gathered much of the evidence it will use and is beginning to compile that information for the report.

It could be weeks before the coroners report is complete, said Schwartz.

Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call the Santa Rosa Police Department's Violent Crimes Investigations Team at 543-3590.

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