Prosecutors dropped attempted murder charges against the son of
a former Gilroy City Councilman after learning the gun he used in
an alleged attempted murder of a police officer may have been
rigged to jam on purpose.
Prosecutors dropped attempted murder charges against the son of a former Gilroy City Councilman after learning the gun he used in an alleged attempted murder of a police officer may have been rigged to jam on purpose.
Pete Valdez III, 32, faces 12 years in prison after pleading guilty Monday to lesser charges of assault on a police officer, resisting a police officer and being a felon in possession of a firearm, Santa Clara County Judge Kenneth Shapero announced Monday in Dept. 110 of the South County Courthouse in Morgan Hill.
Valdez – son of former Councilman Pete Valdez Jr. – avoided attempted murder charges, however, after prosecutors decided a jury could have believed Valdez modified the .25-caliber hand gun in an attempt to commit suicide by eliciting gunshots from police, said Steve Lowney, Santa Clara County deputy district attorney.
Outside the courthouse, Stuart Kirchick, Valdez’s attorney, called the plea deal “a very fair result” because he said his client never intended to kill Officer John Ballard, whom police said Valdez pointed the gun at and pulled the trigger Nov. 15, 2007.
The gun jammed and didn’t fire, according to police. In an interview after the incident, Valdez told police he pulled the gun hoping an officer would shoot and kill him.
“There’s a factual dispute as to whether or not the defendant intentionally jammed the gun,” said Lowney when he was asked why his office did not pursue attempted murder charges.
He added an analysis of the gun revealed Valdez would have had to use “a tool” to perform the modification ahead of time.
“It could not have been quickly done at the time, which changes the whole complexity of the case,” Lowney said. “That’s why things have changed.”
Kirchick said he was shocked when prosecutors approached him two weeks ago with the plea deal.
“I really believed it was going to go to trial,” Kirchick said.
Valdez will be sentenced at 9 a.m. Aug. 29 in Dept. 110 of the South County Courthouse.
He did not immediately appear in court with roughly a dozen other in-custody individuals who were also awaiting hearings Monday morning.
After meeting privately with attorneys for approximately 45 minutes, Valdez emerged from a hallway flanked by Santa Clara County Sheriff’s deputies in handcuffs, donning a light orange jumpsuit and wide, plastic-framed eyeglasses.
Before formally responding to the three charges against him, Valdez asked Shapero, “I get credit for time served, right?”
Shapero responded, “You will receive credit for whatever the law allows you.”
Just how much time Valdez will actually serve hasn’t yet been determined, Lowney said. Though Valdez will likely be sentenced to 12 years, the court will need to determine by the Aug. 29 sentencing hearing how many days Valdez will receive credit for since his 2007 arrest.
Doctors found Valdez incompetent to stand trial in 2009, but that decision was later reversed at a April 9, 2010 private hearing.
“He’s not getting any additional credit for the time spent in the delay because of trying to figure out if he’s competent,” Lowney said.
During Monday’s hearing, Shapero asked Valdez if he had consumed any alcohol or drugs or had been coerced in any way in the 24 hours prior to agreeing to the plea deal.
Other than his medication, Valdez, said he had not.
When asked to enter a plea on the charge of assaulting a police officer with a firearm, Valdez answered, “Guilty,” then changed his response to “no contest,” moments later after conferring with Kirchick.
When Shapero later asked Valdez if he understood that a “no contest” plea was essentially the same as a guilty plea, Valdez said, “Yes.”
About 3 a.m. Nov. 15, 2007, Ballard noticed Valdez biking east on West Eighth Street on the wrong side of the road and without a headlight, police said. When Ballard tried to stop him, police say Valdez sped away.
Ballard caught up with Valdez a few blocks later, and a foot chase ensued. During the chase, Valdez punched and kicked Ballard, then pulled a hand gun loaded with seven hollow-point bullets, according to police.
Police said Valdez aimed the gun at Ballard’s face, repeatedly pulling the trigger. The gun jammed and did not fire, and Ballard resumed fighting with Valdez while another officer arrived and helped subdue and arrest Valdez, police said.
After handcuffing Valdez, Ballard shouted, “You tried to shoot me,” according to court documents. Valdez replied, “I’m sorry.”
Ballard still works for the Gilroy Police Department as a detective, said GPD Sgt. Chad Gallacinao.
