SANTA CLARA COUNTY — The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office has released a statement as of April 19th, 2016, regarding the outcome of an investigation into an officer-involved shooting of a drugged and mentally ill suspect.
The suspect in question, 43-year-old Brandon Marshall of Saratoga, was shot by the deputy after Marshall’s coworkers had reported him behaving erratically and violently. He had, apparently, ingested some form of drug that convinced him he was being tailed by the Secret Service and the Illuminati. A subsequent blood test revealed that Marshall had ingested a designer drug often referred to as bath salts.
According to police, the circumstances deemed it necessary for the deputy — identified as Deputy Aldo Garcia — to believe that Marshall could potentially be dangerous. Marshall was allegedly in possession of a Kubotan, a pen-sized weapon sometimes used as a keychain, and was about to strike when Deputy Groba fired his service weapon.
It all started back on December 10th, 2013, when Marshall swallowed bath salts at the Roku offices in Saratoga. As they kicked in, he began to behave erratically, attempting to force himself to vomit in an effort to prevent himself from overdosing. He allegedly barged into the building and called his father, then ran outside and remained in the parking lot.
Concerned employees notified police and requested an ambulance. During initial contact with police, Marshall again became agitated, brandished his Kubotan and threatened to kill one of the deputies.
Responding deputies became concerned for the safety of the medical personnel on scene and told them to back away. Marshall began to advance and tried to attack Deputy Groba, who stepped back in time to block Marshall and fire a single shot that forced Marshall to drop the weapon.
Despite the bullet wound, Marshall continued to fight as four Santa Clara County deputies tried to restrain him. He was eventually taken into custody and later died at the hospital from the gunshot wound.
