District Attorney finds 2020 officer-involved shooting in Ventura justified

The Ventura County District Attorney's Office has found a Ventura police officer was justified when fatally shooting a man after a pursuit ended on Harbor Boulevard last year, according to a report issued Thursday.

The DA's office routinely investigates officer-involved shootings to determine whether the use of force was legally justified.

The shooting occurred on Nov. 5, 2020, involving Officer Joaquin Ortega, a 24-year veteran of the Ventura Police Department, and Javier Magaña, a 32-year-old Oxnard man.

The report, written by Senior Deputy DA Tate McCallister, determined Ortega believed he and other officers were in great danger and his use of deadly force was necessary for self-defense.

The report combines witness testimonies, descriptions and photographs of physical evidence and a summary of relevant legal principles to reach its conclusion. The document also included a description of Ortega's body-worn camera footage, which was published in a YouTube video last year by Ventura police.

The report begins by contextualizing the pursuit that ended in Magaña's death. On Oct. 12, 2020, Magaña had assaulted and shot at a member of the Loma Flats gang, to which Magaña also belonged, according to authorities. Oxnard police had subsequently placed a tracking device on a 1999 Honda Accord driven by Magaña after getting a search warrant during the shooting investigation.

On Nov. 5, Oxnard police were conducting surveillance on the Honda when they saw Magaña get in the car and drive away. Officers initiated a pursuit after seeing Magaña make an unspecified traffic violation that they tried to pull him over for.

Magaña never yielded to Oxnard police. During the pursuit, he reached speeds up to 70 mph on city streets, the report says. At one point, he hit a curb and his front right tire went flat. However, Magaña continued to drive and got onto northbound Highway 101 at Vineyard Avenue, continuing until he got off at Main Street in Ventura.

Once Magaña was in Ventura, Ortega took over as lead vehicle while the pursuit continued on city streets. The chase began in Ventura's west end and eventually ended up on Seaward Avenue. There, Ventura police officers had rolled out a spike strip to take out the rest of the tires on Magaña's Honda. Magaña drove over the strip, lost control of his car and drifted across Harbor Boulevard before coming to a stop.

More local news: Anonymous threats bring police presence to Oxnard High School

Ortega and his K-9 patrol dog were the first to stop at the scene after the Honda stopped. A few seconds after Ortega got out of his car, he heard a shot fired by Magaña. Magaña had been running away from Ortega, but tripped and fell. He turned over and pointed his gun at Ortega while still sitting on the ground, then continued to point it at the officer while he got up, according to the report.

Ortega, who was running toward Magaña, fired three shots while Magaña attempted to run away. He then fired two more shots at Magaña, causing Magaña to stumble and drop his handgun. As Magaña picked up his gun again, Ortega fired two final shots, causing Magaña to drop the gun, stumble over and eventually roll onto his back. Paramedics declared Magaña dead at the scene.

The report's analysis highlights the fact that Ortega's K-9, Miles, did not join him when Ortega exited his car. Combined with other circumstances, that left Ortega with only his gun as a method of self-defense

"At that point, Officer Ortega was the only officer on foot in pursuit of Magaña," the report states. "His K-9 was not at his side, he had no cover and no less-lethal weapon that could be deployed in time to stop Magaña from firing at him."

The report also concludes Magaña had shown he was willing to resort to deadly force by shooting his firearm once as Ortega exited his vehicle and that he pointed his gun at the officer multiple times during the foot pursuit.

Between the risk of life posed by Magaña and the unavailability of less-lethal methods in the moment, the DA review found Ortega's shooting of Magaña to be justifiable self-defense.

Read the report in full below:

Jeremy Childs is a breaking news and public safety reporter covering the night shift for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached by calling 805-437-0208 or emailing jeremy.childs@vcstar.com. You can also find him on Twitter @Jeremy_Childs.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Ventura 2020 officer-involved shooting of Javier Magaña was justified, DA reports