'I'm Dying': OC Sheriff Releases Video From Lake Forest Shooting

LAKE FOREST, CA — Body-worn camera footage released Tuesday by the Orange County Sheriff's Department appeared to show three deputies struggle to handcuff a man in the moments before one of the deputies shot him on the floor of the Foothill Ranch Walmart Supercenter in January.

The sheriff's department released the 21-minute shooting video — consisting of a store employee's call to the department and footage from the three deputies' body cameras and store surveillance — depicting details of the Jan. 19 shooting.

The man survived the shooting and was identified as Ernest Aguilar, 30, of Santa Ana.

He's recovering from his wound at the Theo Lacy Facility and was being held on $2.27 million bail, according to jail records.

Sgt. Todd Hylton, a public information officer for the sheriff's department, told Patch that Aguilar was being held on several outstanding warrants and was charged in the Walmart incident.

The woman involved in the incident was later detained, as was a second man, in connection with the incident. Neither was arrested and they were subsequently released, Hylton said.

The deputies involved in the incident were identified as Shane Johnson, Gregory Shrum and Ever Zelaya, the department said. All three have since returned to duty, according to Hylton. He did not say which deputy fired the shot that struck Aguilar.

Sheriff's deputies were called to the store around 9:30 p.m. on Jan. 19 by an employee regarding an attempt by a man and woman to steal from Walmart, the department said.

The store employee called sheriff's dispatch to say that a man and woman were filling a shopping cart with items and intended to walk out without paying using a fake receipt, according to a recording of a call.

The video showed deputies escorting Aguilar and a woman from the store when Aguilar appeared to reach for a knife from a sheath on his belt, the sheriff's department said on the video. A deputy took the knife away and attempted to place Aguilar into handcuffs, but he began to struggle, the department said.

"We're going to put you in handcuffs because I don't know if you have other weapons," one of the deputies can be heard saying on the video. "If you fight, you're going to get on the ground. I'm promising right now you're not going to win this fight."

Aguilar can be heard crying out for help and asking the deputies to stop as they all fall to the floor, according to the video.

Aguilar appeared to reach for something in his waistband, and a deputy can be heard saying that it was a gun, according to the video.

"He's got a gun! He's got a gun! Shoot him! Shoot him!" a deputy can be heard saying in the video.

Another deputy appeared to fire a single shot at Aguilar's head, according to the video. A different deputy grabbed what appeared to be a gun from Aguilar and pushed it away.

Screams can be heard in the video from around the store immediately after the shooting.

"I'm dying," Aguilar can be heard saying as a deputy places handcuffs on him and another calls for an ambulance, according to the video.

Another man's voice could be heard saying "nice" in the video. The sheriff's department said the voice belonged to a bystander who had rushed to help the deputies.

Aguilar was taken to a hospital where he underwent emergency surgery, the department said.

A gun and knife that appeared to belong to Aguilar were recovered at the scene, the department said.

The woman who was with Aguilar left the store during the shooting, the department said.

Deputies were able to track the woman to Midway City, and she and another man were detained and later released, Hylton said.