Man ID'd in Deadly Temecula Officer-Involved Shooting

A bullet-ridden vehicle sits on Moraga Road in Temecula following a deadly officer-involved shooting on July 5, 2016. Image courtesy of Joe Fanaselle.

Temecula, CA – Riverside County coroner's officials identified the man who was killed by Temecula police following a pursuit through town as a local resident.

The man, 49-year-old Sam Newby, died about 40 minutes after he was shot at 4:o6 p.m. Tuesday near the intersection of Moraga and Margarita roads, according to the coroner's office.

Sheriff's officials say Newby was shot after he robbed a nearby business, led police on a 4-mile-long pursuit through town and slammed into multiple vehicles in the process, sending several people to the hospital.

After a crash into a white SUV, the suspect drove his own red SUV just a short distance more and came to a stop on Moraga, just south of Margarita, according to Riverside County Sheriff's Deputy Armando Munoz. That's when the shooting happened.

"The officers approached the vehicle to arrest the suspect, and an officer-involved shooting occurred," he said. "Officers called paramedics to the scene where they pronounced him deceased."

A Temecula native named Tony Pineda told the Press Enterprise newspaper that he witnessed deputies shooting at the suspect's vehicle after the crash and that he believes the suspect shot back. However, police have not confirmed that, and details surrounding the moments just prior to the shooting remain limited.

Newby is accused of a robbery that netted just $150 from a local El Pollo Loco prior to the entire chain of events, the Press Enterprise said.

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• New Details Released in Deadly Temecula Officer-Involved Shooting