A San Diego police officer shot and wounded a domestic violence suspect who authorities claim attempted to evade arrest by hiding in a Carmel Mountain Ranch movie theater and pretending to be a patron.
The incident began at 2:22 p.m. Saturday with an alleged domestic violence occurrence reported in the parking lot of a shopping center in the 11100 block of Carmel Mountain Road, SDPD Lt. Ernie Herbert said.
Officers arrived to find the suspect had fled the scene, and witnesse said the man was armed with a handgun and had run across Rancho Carmel Drive to another shopping center, Herbert said.
Officers tracked the suspect to a multi-screen movie theater, and one officer located him sitting inside one of the theaters as a patron, Herbert said.
"As the officer approached the suspect, the officer gave the suspect verbal commands to determine if he was armed. The suspect initially complied by raising his empty hands, but then lowered them quickly into his lap,'' Herbert said.
"The suspect raised a handgun and turned it toward the officer,'' Herbert claimed. "The officer shot the suspect and the suspect was taken into custody.''
The other patrons in the theater where the shooting took place were able to get away safely, he said.
The suspect, identified as Tom Billodeaux, 20, of Escondido, was shot in the arm and the chest and taken to a hospital for treatment, Herbert said. He will be booked into the San Diego County Jail upon release from the hospital. Herbert did not specify what charges he would be booked on.
The alleged domestic violence victim was able to get away from Billodeaux with help of coworkers and other witnesses and was not injured, Herbert said.
The case remains under investigation, he said.
