District Attorney’s Office concludes officers were justified and face no state criminal liability in the December shooting death of Connor Amador
LOMPOC, Calif. – The Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office has determined that the officer-involved shooting on Dec. 29, 2023, which resulted in the death of Connor Jeffrey Amador, was a justified use of force and that the officer faces no state criminal liability.
On Dec. 28, 2023, around 11:30 p.m., a man, later identified as 21-year-old Connor Amador, entered the Circle K on the corner of Ocean Avenue and Seventh Street in Lompoc and grabbed two 24-ounce cans of beer from the cooler before approaching the cashier stated the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office in a press release about their Officer-Involved Shooting (OIS) report issued Thursday.
Amador then pulled out what appeared to be a handgun out of the back pocket of his pants and pointed it at the cashier, identified in the OIS report as E.L., demanding that E.L. give him everything in the register detailed the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
That apparent handgun was later determined to have been a CO2-propelled pellet gun with a laser sight shared the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
Amador then turned to two men who were customers in the store at the time and told them not to move or that he would kill them stated the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
According to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office, Amador then went around the counter to the register and told E.L. to give him all the cash and E.L. complied, giving him about $100 in cash from one of the registers.
Amador then asked if the store had a safe to which E.L. explained he could not open the safe and then Amador told him to open the second cash register detailed the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
E.L. explained he could not open the second register while logged into the other, already-opened register to which Amador pointed the gun in his hand at E.L.'s face and threatened to shoot him shared the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
According to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office, Amador then hit E.L. in the abdomen with a fist then hit him in the head with the butt of the gun before turning to the customers in the store and telling them to leave.
Both customers left the store and one called 911 from his car stated the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
The customer who called 911 was a security guard and informed the dispatcher that the gun Amador has was black, had a scope or red dot sight attached, and appeared to be real after he reported that he had heard Amador "racking" or putting a bullet into the weapon's chamber shared the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
After the customers had exited the store, Amador covered his face with a cloth ski mask, pointed the gun at E.L.'s head, and threatened the cashier's life if he called the police before taking the cash and beers and leaving the store detailed the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
E.L. called 911 after Amador left the Circle K stated the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
At 11:31 p.m., Lompoc Police Officer Tara Newton was dispatched to the Circle K and she arrived approximately two minutes later, but Amador was already gone explained the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
According to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office, Officer Newton took E.L.'s account of the incident and description of Amador including his clothing and weapon and notably, E.L. said he was afraid for his life as Amador had pulled the trigger to his weapon twice but the gun failed to fire.
While officers were gathering evidence at the scene, the manager of the Cicle K, identified in the OIS report as D.J., provided the store's video surveillance system to investigating officers explained the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
According to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office, Officer Newton took still photographs from the footage to disseminate to other officers to aid in their search, noted Amador's distinctive circular tattoo on his right hand and a tattoo of bones on the tops of his finger, as well as Amador's uniquely colored sneakers.
Officers were unable to locate Amador after a search of the surrounding area stated the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
Shortly after 1:15 a.m. on Dec. 29, 2023, a man identified in the OIS report as J.B. parked a white SUV in a spot near the front door of the same Circle K and he began scratching off lottery tickets while sitting in the parked vehicle detailed the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
According to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office, Amador approached the driver's side door of the SUV and began banging on the window while holding a machete in one hand and a gun in the other.
Amador then pointed the gun at J.B.'s face and threatened him unless he gave him the vehicle before he started hitting the window with the machete detailed the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
J.B. slid into the passenger seat of the SUV and ran out the passenger side door toward Seventh Street and then up Seventh Street toward Lompoc Valley Medical Center while yelling for help stated the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
According to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office, Amador failed to open the driver side door of the SUV and proceeded to chase after J.B. through the parking lot yelling for the keys.
J.B. yelled back that the keys were in the ignition and Amador stopped chasing him and walked back to the entrance of the Circle K explained the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
J.B. ran to the emergency room of the Lompoc Valley Medical Center where he called 911 and reported what had happened stated the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
D.J., the manager of the Circle K, was inside the store when she heard the altercation outside and called 911, but before she could start providing information to the dispatcher, Amador entered the store still holding the machete in his left hand and the gun in his right explained the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
Amador then order D.J. to open the cash register while pointing the gun at her stated the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
According to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office, some of the verbal exchange was captured on the 911 recording as Amador followed D.J. around the counter while holding the gun to her temple and waving the machete while demanding she open the cash register.
D.J. later reported she was frightened during the exchange and that Amador had pulled the trigger of the gun while it was pointed at her head, but it failed to fire detailed the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
After D.J. explained she could not open the register or the safe, he pushed over a register's monitor as well as some store merchandise while exiting the store shared the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
Multiple calls had been received about a disturbance at the Circle K, including at least one caller who reported shots fired, and Officer Newton and Officer Justice was dispatched in response stated the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
Officer Newton arrived at 1:20 a.m. in full uniform driving a marked police car and she parked her vehicle in the Circle K driveway from Ocean Avenue shared the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
According to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office, no in-vehicle video exists from Officer Newton's vehicle as the system shuts down automatically after 30 minutes and takes three minutes to become fully operational again.
Officer Newton's drive to the scene took less than the necessary three minutes stated the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
Officer Newton spotted Amador near the driver's side door of a white SUV holding what appeared to be a black semi-automatic handgun in one hand and a long object in the other explained the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
Officer Newton reported on her radio that she had a suspect with a gun and drew her department-issued handgun shared the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
Officer Justice arrived on the scene shortly after Officer Newton with his department-issued AR-15 rifle after hearing the information of an armed person over the radio and parked his vehicle near Officer Newton's vehicle creating an angle explained the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
According to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office, there is no in-vehicle record from Officer Justice's vehicle due to a malfunctioning system that was being processed for replacement by the Lompoc Police Department.
Amador then began to approach Officer Newton who decided to attempt to retrieve her department-issued rifle when she heard three of four shots stated the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
Officer Justice had opened the driver side door of his patrol vehicle and was straddling the floorboard and running board while standing and pointing his rifle at Amador explained the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
As Amador approached the officers, he raised his right arm and pointed the gun at officers and, fearing that Amador would shoot, fired his rifle three times until he saw Amador fall to the ground and felt he was no longer a threat stated the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
Officer Newton broadcast on police radio that shots had been fired and the suspect was down and medical aid was provided after a ballistic shield was used to approach him safely and place him into hand cuffs detailed the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
Officer Newton administered CPR while other officers placed a chest seal on him before medics from American Medical Response declared Amador dead at the scene shared the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office investigators responded to the scene and began to collect evidence for their investigation.
The image below was taken of the weapons Amador had in his possesion during the incident taken at the scene the night of Dec. 29, 2023.
According to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office, Sheriff's investigators learned later that Amador's brother had died approximately two years prior and Amador had sent suicidal text messages the last night of his life.
The following five messages from Connor Amador to his family and girlfriend were included in the OIS report.
(Dec. 28, 2023 at 9:52 p.m.): "I loves u babe with all my heart and ur the last
true love I’ve ever had and the only true love I’ve ever had im just telling u
this now don’t tell amber and my unc ima do something really bad I guess it’s
my time to see my brother in the after life and be with him forever I give up
on my gang and just wanna see him and my dead homies …"
(Dec. 28, 2023 at 10:15 p.m.): "I loves babe this the last time u gonna hear from
me u meant the most to me and I hope u will at least show up to my funeral
and u know my song."
(Dec. 28, 2023 at 10:31 p.m.): "… but all ima say now is I hope u remember me
after death and show up to my funeral and u know my song …"
(Dec. 28, 2023 at 10:45 p.m.“): "I loves u y’all for reals bye this the last message
y’all hear from me.” “Wats the worse that can happen I can see my brother
and my uncle behr and my dead homies."
(Dec. 29, 2023 at 12:44 a.m.): "Im just letting u know don’t text me know more
I’ma get into a shootout with the police."
On Jan. 5, 2024, Dr. Montez, a Santa Barbara County Sheriff's office forensic pathologist conducted an autopsy of Amador stated the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
Dr. Montez documented three gunshot wounds to Amador's head, adbomen, and right arm and a toxicology analysis of Amador's blood shoed a blood alcohol content of 0.254 at the time of his death and the Coroner's Officer certified his death as a homicide shared the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
The OIS report concluded with the following statement:
"Based on the investigation by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, applying the law as set forth in Penal Code sections 196(b) and 835a, as well as relevant case law, Officer Justice acted reasonably in his use of deadly force; therefore, the shooting of Connor Jeffrey Amador was a justifiable homicide."
