According to the report issued by the county's chief medical examiner-coroner, Dr. Jonathan Lucas, all five shots were fatal. The attorney for the sheriff's deputy who shot Guardado says he'll be speaking to investigators on Monday.
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Last month, a law firm representing Guardado's family said that the Sheriff's Department has had put a "security hold" on the coroner's autopsy results. The family then requested an independent autopsy, which was completed on June 18.
On Wednesday, Adam Shea, an attorney for the family, disclosed the results of the independent autopsy which first revealed the number of times he was struck by gunfire in the back.
Independent autopsy reveals 18-year-old was shot 5 times in back by sheriff's deputies
Andres Guardado investigation: Independent autopsy reveals 18-year-old was shot 5 times in back by sheriff's deputies
That autopsy too found that Guardado did not have drugs or alcohol in his system at the time of his death.
"Andres was not facing deputies so he should not have been shot, he should not have been killed and the sheriff's department is just trying to put the kibosh on this information so that nobody knows what really happened," said Shea.
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An attorney for sheriff's Deputy Miguel Vega, who fired his weapon in the incident, said the shooting was made in self-defense when Guardado reached for a gun on the ground.
The attorney said Guardado was armed with a gun and ran from two deputies who chased him. When Vega caught up to him, Guardado initially complied with commands to lay on the ground, the attorney said.
"Deputy Vega then holstered his weapon and began approaching Mr. Guardado to immediately apply handcuffs and effectuate an arrest, clearly and repeatedly stating, 'Don't reach for the gun,'" according to the attorney's statement.
"Suddenly and in direct contravention to these commands, Mr. Guardado clearly and unmistakably tried to grab the firearm. At this point, Deputy Vega had no choice but to redraw his weapon and fire in self-defense."
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