DA release bodycam showing Carmel police killing suspect armed with a crowbar and BB assault rifle

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The Monterey County District Attorney's Office has released body camera video of a shooting that resulted in a Carmel police officer killing an armed suspect.

James Marshall, 27, of Carmel, was seen roaming the streets of Carmel-by-the-Sea with what appeared to be a long rifle before being confronted by three Carmel police officers, including the police chief, on the morning of Oct. 25, on a property on Monte Verde Street.

The weapon Marshall was threatening neighbors with appeared to be an AK-47-style rifle. The district attorney's office said it was a BB gun that looked like a real assault rifle.

Carmel police received a call from a person who said that their neighbor had brandished a rifle at them.

The suspect's mother called 911, saying her son was having a breakdown and wanted to die by police. She also told police her son was armed with a firearm.

Carmel police received a call from a person who said that their neighbor had brandished a rifle at them. The district attorney's office said that Marshall went around the neighborhood dressed in tactical gear armed with pepper spray, a knife, a 3-foot-long crowbar and what later turned out to be a BB rifle.

The three officers involved in the incident were Carmel Police Chief Paul Tomasi, Sergeant Gerald Maldonado, and Officer Rene Guevara, per the district attorney's office.

"At approximately 10:07 AM, they saw Marshall on the sidewalk in front of his residence. Marshall moved to his driveway and Sergeant Maldonado fired bean bag rounds at Marshall to subdue him as Marshall faced toward the sidewalk. This had no effect, although later the BB rifle was found at this location. The officers chased Marshall into his backyard where he disobeyed officers’ orders despite being hit with additional bean bag rounds." said a media release from the district attorney's office.

"Drop the crowbar. We don't want to shoot you," police chief Paul Tomasi pleads in the video.

The footage shows Marshall walking towards Sergeant Gerald Maldonado with a three-foot crowbar, prompting Officer Rene Guevara to fire five rounds at Marshall.

"Drop the crowbar," officers shout as five shots are heard.

Despite being shot, Marshall continues to advance, leading Sergeant Maldonado to fire bean bags at him. Eventually, Marshall is taken down and later dies of his injuries.

"The great thing about body cam is that it's not just the credibility of people anymore," said Chief District Attorney Berkley Brannon. "If the event is clear on the cam, we're going to be able to figure out whether what our officers are telling us is true or not. And obviously we can't interview the suspect in a case like this. And so the body cam is absolutely critical."

An autopsy will determine if Marshall was under the influence of drugs at the time.

"They explained, you know, what their state of mind was," the Brannon." And what they said was that, you know, they thought that Sergeant Maldonado was in danger of being either killed or harmed with a crowbar at the time the shots were fired."

The Monterey County District Attorney's Office is conducting an investigation, which could take up to two months to complete.

Maldonado has been an officer with the Carmel Police Department since 2018 and has been a peace officer for eight years.

Officer Rene Guevara was the only officer who fired bullets at the suspect. He has eighteen years as a peace officer and has been with Carmel police since August 2023.

Chief Paul Tomasi did not fire any shots at Marshall and was the only officer not wearing a body camera.