Guadalupe officer who shot and killed bystander identified

August 27, 2021

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

The California Department of Justice has named the Guadalupe police officer who shot and killed a bystander last weekend.

Officer Miguel Jaimes fired his revolver at a wanted suspect, but instead shot and killed an uninvolved resident who was sitting in his car. Jaimes has served on the Guadalupe force since Jan. 2020.

Shortly before 10 p.m. Saturday, officers recognized a man at the intersection of Birch and Obispo streets as a suspect with an outstanding no-bail felony arrest warrant. After about 15 minutes, Jaimes fired at the wanted suspect, but hit 59-year-old Juan Luis Olvera-Preciado, of Guadalupe, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

Law enforcement agencies have not released the sequence of events that transpired between the suspect and officers because of an ongoing investigation by the Department of Justice, the Santa Maria Police Department and the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. Neither Jaimes, nor the suspect, who was taken into custody, were injured.

Guadalupe Police Chief Michael Cash met personally with the Olvera-Preciado family to offer his condolences and to coordinate support services.


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