Investigation Clears 2 Officers Of Murder Charges

SANTA CLARA - An investigation found that two police officers lawfully shot an armed robbery suspect who died nearly a year ago in Santa Clara, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office announced Thursday.

Officers Josh Craig and Randy Van Diemen will not be charged in the death of 24-year-old Tracy resident Devin James Gates as he fled from a 7-Eleven store at 2105 Scott Blvd. that he robbed on March 22, 2015, district attorney's officials said.

Craig worked with Santa Clara police for five years and Van Diemen had been employed with the department for three years when the shooting occurred, according to the report.

"Recognizing this immediate safety risk and intending to impede Gates from causing more harm or escaping, the officers had no other means by which they could neutralize the threat than to discharge their weapons," Deputy District Attorney Carolyn Powell said in a 39-page report on the case released Thursday.

Gates had entered the store around 2 a.m. that day with his face covered with a mask and head covered with the hood of a sweatshirt, according to district attorney's officials. The 24-year-old aimed a handgun at the clerk, demanded money at gunpoint, and asked for more cash when he was only given a $20 bill, district attorney's officials said.

Gates continued to yell at the clerk for additional money and fired a shot before he fled, district attorney's officials said.

The officers witnessed the robbery and faced Gates as he left through store's front doors, according to district attorney's officials

. The store clerk estimated he handed roughly $300 to $400 over to the suspect, according to the report. Gates was holding a bag of money in one hand and had his other hand in his sweatshirt pocket when the officers confronted him, district attorney's officials said.

The suspect didn't follow their commands to show his hands or drop to the ground, the report said.

Gates ran toward parked cars at the lot, which prompted the officers to shoot at him, according to district attorney's officials.

An autopsy showed Gates died of three gunshot wounds and had cocaine in his system, according to the report.

The 24-year-old was identified as a suspect in a similar armed robbery that happened five days before he died at a Quick and Easy Food Mart in Manteca, district attorney's officials said.

In 2010, Gates was convicted of possessing a controlled substance and was sentenced to two months in jail and three years probation, the report said.

Gates' girlfriend told investigators that if the officers didn't shoot at her boyfriend, he would've shot at them, according to the report.

"He would kill anyone that tried to put his life in danger ... he hates the police," Gates' girlfriend said in the report.

-Bay City News, image via ShutterStock