Officer-involved shooting suspect has been in criminal court 6 times
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — New information in the officer-involved shooting Wednesday reveals suspect, Francisco Monge, has been in criminal court before. Monge was in jail for over a year before pleading to two counts of possession of explosives.
Documents show Monge was in criminal court six times since 2010, most recently in July of 2021, when he was charged with 32 felony counts, but plead no contest to only two.
Monge was arrested four years ago at his east Bakersfield home when he was found with 31 Molotov cocktails he said were for “home defense”, according to the District Attorney’s office.
He was charged with 32 felony counts of possession of destructive device and 1 felony count of possession of arson device.
The case turned on Monge’s mental health, including the need for treatment upon release.
After a year and a half, he pleaded no contest and sentenced to time served with two years of probation.
His probation had specific mental health terms, including a requirement to take all psychiatric medications prescribed and to be searched at any time to make sure he is following probation laws. Other previous cases included defrauding, vandalism, trespassing, two assaults with a deadly weapon and battery, of which one was dismissed and the rest he pleaded no contest.
The officer-involved shooting on July 3 began with a traffic stop. Monge fled and police say he had a slingshot type weapon. One of the officers fired two shots and Monge was not shot by a bullet but was taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure, according to BPD.
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Police are calling his weapon a Balearic-style slingshot, a weapon ancient humans used to sling rocks for hunting. This sling can throw rocks up to 100 Miles per hour, if properly used. We also don’t know what Monge was allegedly slinging. Police said he slung “objects” at the officers.
Monge was still serving his probation at the time of this incident and his hearing for probation violation is set on July 9. We sent in a request to interview Monge at Lerdo Jail where he is currently being held.
BPD said they will be releasing the officers name next week.
There are still a list of unanswered questions for BPD:
– Why did the officer shoot?
– Was anyone else injured?
– What was the reason for the traffic stop?
– Did these officers have previous shootings?
– Were less than lethal measures used?
This is a developing story.
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