A trial date has been set for the son of a former Gilroy city
councilman accused of attempting to shoot a Gilroy police
officer.
A trial date has been set for the son of a former Gilroy city councilman accused of attempting to shoot a Gilroy police officer.
The trial of Pete Valdez III, 32, is scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m. Monday, June 27 in Dept. 110 of the South County Courthouse in Morgan Hill, according to Amy Cornell, spokeswoman for the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.
Doctors found Valdez incompetent to stand trial in 2009, but that decision was later reversed at a private hearing April 9, 2010.
Valdez is the son of former Gilroy City Councilman Pete Valdez Jr. He faces felony charges of attempted murder of a police officer, assault of a police officer with a firearm, being a felon in possession of a gun and delaying or resisting a police officer. Police said Valdez could spend the rest of his life in jail if convicted.
Around 3 a.m. Nov. 15, 2008, Gilroy police officer John Ballard noticed Valdez biking east on West Eighth Street without a headlight and on the wrong side of the road, police said. When Ballard tried to stop him, Valdez allegedly sped away.
Ballard caught up with Valdez a few blocks later, and a foot chase ensued. During the chase, Valdez allegedly punched and kicked the officer, then pulled a .25-caliber semiautomatic handgun loaded with seven hollow-point bullets, according to police.
Valdez allegedly aimed the gun at Ballard’s face, repeatedly pulling the trigger. The gun jammed, however, and did not fire, police said.
Ballard resumed fighting with Valdez while another officer arrived and helped subdue and arrest Valdez, police said.
In an interview after the incident, Valdez said he pulled the gun in hopes that an officer would shoot and kill him.
“I don’t want to live,” said a crying Valdez after he was apprehended, according to court records.
