The deputy responsible for shooting and killing a Camp Pendleton-based Marine was identified this weekend by the Association of Orange County Sheriffs.
Darren Sandberg, a 15-year department veteran and Marine of four years, was the deputy who shot 31-year-old Sgt. Manuel Loggins on Feb. 7, the association confirmed Wednesday.
Loggins was shot while sitting behind the wheel of his SUV outside San Clemente High School.
Deputies said Loggins was seen driving through a locked gate and left the vehicle acting strangely. When he returned and tried to drive off he was shot.
The Marine’s 9-year-old and 14-year-old daughters were sitting in the back seat at the time of the shooting. He is a father of three with another child on the way.
The department initially said the deputy felt threatened, then later said the deputy perceived a threat to the girls if the vehicle was allowed to leave the scene.
The details of the incident have been contested by both family and friends of Loggins as well as Camp Pendleton officials.
"It just hurts me to think a man lost his life, a good man like Manny, over nothing," Loggin’s friend Esperanza Solis said Friday.
"I don't believe any of the stories that came out," Solis said. "I don't feel that we're getting the real story out there of what actually happened."
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Camp Pendleton commanding officer Colonel Nicholas Marano released a statement last week critical of how the Orange County Sheriff’s Department has handled the investigation.
The statement said in part, that Marano is “less than satisfied with the official response from the city of San Clemente and Orange County. Many of the statements made concerning Manny Loggins' character over the past few days are incorrect and deeply hurtful to an already grieving family."
The Orange County District Attorney's office says they are still investigating the shooting. It could be weeks or months before the investigation is complete.
On Friday, a memorial service for Loggins will be held Friday for family and friends at Camp Pendleton's Chapel. The serivce is not open to the public.
