Morgan Hill
– A 42-year-old Modesto man was shot in the arm by a Morgan Hill
Police officer early Sunday morning during what police said
appeared to be an attempted burglary.
Morgan Hill – A 42-year-old Modesto man was shot in the arm by a Morgan Hill Police officer early Sunday morning during what police said appeared to be an attempted burglary.
The officer was responding to a report of a possible burglary in the eastern foothills, at the site of the former Flying Lady restaurant and Hill Country Golf Course.
MHPD Lt. Joe Sampson said Monday that the shooting was the first in many years.
“The collective memory (of the current MHPD) could not recall an officer-involved shooting here in the past 20-25 years,” he said.
According to Sampson, the officer was approaching the scene on foot on the rural, two-lane road at 2am when he saw a gray pickup coming toward him at a high rate of speed without its headlights on.
The pickup reportedly stopped abruptly, near the officer. The suspect, Scott Campione, got out of the truck but refused to obey the officers instructions to surrender. The officer then shot Campione in the arm.
The reason the officer fired, Sampson said, is “an integral part of the criminal part of the investigation,” and could not be released at this time. The name of the officer also is being withheld. MHPD officers are still looking for two other suspects who fled the scene.
Campione was taken to Saint Louise Medical Center in Gilroy, where he was treated and released to the custody of MHPD officers. An unemployed construction worker, Campione is currently in county jail in lieu of $10,500 bail.
The call to Morgan Hill police came from one of the “five or six” groundskeepers living on the property. Sampson said the boarded-up restaurant is used to store generators and equipment that the suspects may have been after.
“Also, the exterior signage, some of it is stained glass, is something burglars could sell for money,” he said.
In addition to the truck driven by Campione, a van found at the scene also was impounded. The truck and the van are being examined as a part of the investigation.
Sampson said it was not yet clear whether any stolen items were found in the truck or van.
“There are three investigations that are going on simultaneously,” Sampson said Monday. “There is the burglary investigation, an officer involved in a shooting and there is the administrative investigation.”
An internal investigation is examining the conduct of the officer. Such an investigation is standard procedure, Sampson said.
The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office also is involved in the case, Sampson said.
“We’ll interview everyone that’s involved in any investigation, pull all the investigators together, get all of the facts together and, with the DA’s office, decide what information is appropriate to release,” Sampson said.
Chief Assistant District Attorney Karen Sinunu said the officer is fully cooperating with the probe. Sampson said the officer is on paid leave and likely will be identified by the end of the week.
“We don’t release the name until the officer has had a couple days, time with family, time to adjust,” Sampson said. “Once the name is released, it generates even more attention to that officer. We weigh the officer’s well-being with the public’s right to know.”
The officer will be offered counseling and given access to a chaplain.
“We want to make sure the officer is on emotionally solid ground. Generally what we’re looking at is a day-to-day thing, based on what the counselors and chaplain tell us, as far as a return to duty,” he said.
If, during the preliminary internal investigation, there is enough evidence to show the officer acted correctly, the officer could return to duty before the full investigation is completed.
Golf course neighbors contacted Monday afternoon said they were unaware of the shooting.
“That’s scary. I thought this was quite and peaceful country,” said Tracy Christensen, who moved across the street from the golf course over the weekend.
Foothill Avenue resident Rich Gamboa, who lives across the street from the golf course and near the incident, said he and his family slept through the shooting.
“We didn’t hear a thing,” Gamboa said Monday.
The golf course property is now owned by John Fry of Fry’s Electronics and several partners, under the name of Corralitos Creek LTD. The group built a world-class golf course over the Hill Country course and has announced plans to move Fry’s American Institute of Mathematics, now in Palo Alto, into a reconstructed Flying Lady building or an entirely new building on the site.
