Closing arguments concluded Thursday in the trial of a man accused of killing a San Diego police officer and wounding another officer in 2016, handing the fate of the man accused of murder to the jury.
Jesse Gomez, 60, sat quietly as prosecutor Valerie Summers wnet through the evidence that, she says, proves Gomez made a "cold, calculated" decision to shoot two San Diego Police Officers, one fatally, in Southcrest on July 28, 2016.
“The defendant saw the police officers. The defendant assessed the risk," Summers said. “That’s how you know he planned this beforehand. Without hesitation, he shoots into that police car."
Her goal throughout the trial was to convince the jury this was a case of premeditated, deliberate murder. Gomez's motive, she argued, was that he was a felon in possession of a gun, and he did not want to go back to jail.
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"With each pull of that trigger, that defendant makes a decision, 'Should he live or should he die?' Die. Five more times. 'Should he live or should he die?' Die."
Summers painted a vivid picture of the night SDPD Officer Jonathan "J.D." De Guzman and Oficer Wade Irwin were shot. She recalled the emotional testimony given by Officer Irwin and the body-worn camera footage that showed fellow officers responding to the scene to save their comrades.
De Guzman, a 16-year veteran of the San Diego Police Department, died at a hospital, while Irwin was shot in the neck and hospitalized for nearly a month.
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Her forceful tone contrasted that of defense attorney Troy Britt, who made a quiet yet emotional plea to the jury to understand the circumstances of Gomez' life that led him to believe his life was in danger.
“A car was creeping up on him and that might not mean anything to you or I," Britt said. "But for that gentleman, creeping means something very specific. It means somebody’s out hunting. Somebody’s out trying to hurt you. Somebody’s out trying to kill you.”
Britt does not deny that Gomez killed Officer De Guzman, a 16-year veteran of the force, and shot Oficer Wade Irwin in the neck, but he argues that Gomez did not know they were police officers at the time of the shooting -- a claim Gomez made while testifying last week.
Britt then argued that misteps by the San Diego officers -- not flashing their lights and sirens, not turning on body-worn camera and not announcing themselves to Gomez -- played a part in the acts of that day.
If Gomez is convicted of murder, plus a special circumstance allegation of killing an officer, he will face another phase of the trial which will determine if he gets the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Both the prosecution and the defense attorney spent several minutes explaining to the jury their options when it comes to the charges Gomez faces, whether he should be found guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, added gun allegations, and if he intended to kill a peace officer.
Britt spent time reminding the jury the allegations made by the prosecution needed to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Testimony in the murder trial of Jesse Gomez, 60, has been going on for several weeks, with several witnesses called to the stand, including Officer Irwin and the defendant himself.
The jury will next deliberate until they reach a conclusion.
July 28, 2016: SDPD Officers De Guzman, Irwin Shot in Line of Duty
On the night of July 28, 2016, De Guzman, 43, and his fellow SDPD gang unit partner, Irwin, were patrolling the Shelltown neighborhood of San Diego.
At Gomez’s preliminary hearing in 2019, Irwin testified that as he and De Guzman patrolled, they noticed two men split up and start walking along the north and south sidewalks of Acacia Grove Way.
Irwin said he thought the man on the south side was someone else he had previously arrested. De Guzman stopped the car and Irwin got out of the passenger side, leaving the door open.
Irwin approached the man – Gomez – and asked if he lived in the area. Irwin testified in 2019 that upon speaking to Gomez, the officers were shot “almost immediately.”
The officer said Gomez walked up to the open passenger door of the SDPD patrol car and fired, point-blank, at De Guzman as he sat in the driver’s seat. Prosecutors have said the attack on De Guzman happened so quickly, he didn’t even have time to draw his service weapon.
Gomez took off running; Irwin – also wounded – grabbed his service gun and fired on Gomez.
Gomez was found a short time later in a ravine off South 38th Street near the scene. He was hospitalized with a gunshot wound to his upper body but survived.
De Guzman was beloved by his colleagues and family. In 2003, the officer survived a stabbing while on duty, and was awarded a Purple Heart by the department for his valor. Even after that incident, De Guzman returned to the force and his passion to protect the public never wavered.
Irwin returned to duty in June 2017, less than a year after the deadly shooting.
The shootings of the officers jolted San Diego.
Memorials and touching tributes were held across the county in De Guzman’s honor – from the planting of trees in Southcrest to Crossfit workouts held in remembrance.
In 2018, Irwin received the congressional badge of bravery.
The Trial of Jesse Gomez: August and September 2021
Opening statements in the trial of Gomez began on Aug. 17, 2021. The proceedings were expected to last several weeks.
On day one of the trial, the jury watched dramatic body camera video of officers desperately trying to save their colleagues. The video showed the first officer arriving on scene minutes after De Guzman and Irwin were shot.
Officer Irwin took the stand on Aug. 24, 2021, and provided emotional testimony about the night he thought he would die.
“I immediately began thinking about my 18-month-old daughter,” Irwin said on the stand in a San Diego courtroom. “Started thinking about my wife, started thinking about my family. I believed at that time, if the defendant saw that I was alive, I would be executed. I was concerned for my partner and his safety; I didn’t want to die.”
Gomez took the stand in his trial on Sept. 2.
He testified that he thought De Guzman and Irwin were gang members – not police officers – when he opened fire on them.
Gomez and his defense team do not deny that he shot the two gang-unit officers. But they argue he should not face the special circumstance allegation because he did not know he was shooting at law enforcement.
Gomez said when he was approached by Irwin that night, he couldn't see anything but a shadowy figure. Then, he heard a voice.
"The way they approached me. I mean, it happened so fast. It was done within seconds," Gomez said to defense attorney Troy Britt from the witness stand at the San Diego Central Courthouse last week.
"Then, all I heard was, ‘Where you from?’ I thought they were gang members," Gomez said. "I was afraid for my life."
Gomez didn't know "until later on" that he had fired on officers, he said.
“I didn’t know what to do. Then I got shot and I turned and ran,” he testified.
Prosecutors asked Gomez to demonstrate in court how he shot at officers.
Defense attorney Jessica Petry said in her opening statement that in a dangerous neighborhood like San Diego's Shelltown, when someone asks where someone is from, the question usually ends in a violent encounter.
Officers Gomez and Irwin were gang unit officers. Gomez was a gang member who had plenty of previous interactions with police, he admitted. The neighborhood where the shooting occurred has been known for gang activity.
But prosecutor Valerie Summers argued in her opening statement that Gomez did know they were officers – that he was a felon in possession of a gun and knew he would go to jail if he was caught. So, she said, he started firing on officers immediately.
On the stand, Gomez denied the accusation. He said he was not afraid to go back to prison as a convicted felon in possession of a gun.
Summers also questioned Gomez's statement that he could not see that the two men who approached him that night were in a black and white patrol vehicle.
Gomez also said he had a hard time remembering the events of the day because he had smoked methamphetamine three or four times that day.
Gomez remains at San Diego Central Jail, held without bail.
