Officer shooting details emerge

The Calaveras County Sheriff’s Department and District Attorney’s Office have been investigating the deputy-involved shooting that occurred at about 3:40 p.m. They announced Wednesday that Detective Rick DiBasilio had been struck by ricocheting metal fragments as a result of shots fired by Detective Wade Whitney. 

Investigators concluded that rounds fired by Whitney, DiBasilio’s partner, fragmented as they hit the suspect’s vehicle. At least one round fragmented and struck DiBasilio. Two small bullet fragments remain in DiBasilio’s left shoulder, according to Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Dave Seawell. He was treated and released from Mark Twain-St. Joseph's Hospital late Tuesday night and is expected to fully recover, Seawell said.

The incident began Wednesday morning, when detectives served a search warrant at a residence in Rail Road Flat. The basis of the warrant was to investigate alleged stolen property at the location. The residence was known to be occupied by John Palmer, who was wanted for two outstanding warrants involving felony probation violation and a misdemeanor traffic offense, Seawell said.  

While serving the search warrant, detectives recovered a stolen vehicle as well as a variety of stolen items, according to Seawell. When the search warrant was served, Palmer was not at the residence, authorities said.

While DiBasilio and Whitney were returning to the sheriff’s department from Palmer’s residence, they noticed a white Chevrolet Camaro pass them in the opposite direction at a high rate of speed, investigators said. During the search warrant briefing earlier that morning, both detectives received information that Palmer was reportedly driving a white Camaro similar to the vehicle that passed them, Seawell said. 

DiBasilio and Whitney turned around in an attempt to find the vehicle. A witness told the detectives that a similar looking vehicle had just been seen driving through the town of Mountain Ranch towards Rail Road Flat at a high rate of speed, according to investigators. Detectives continued onto Rail Road Flat and later found the vehicle parked at a residence on the 5900 block of Rail Road Flat Road, Seawell said.

As Whitney and DiBasilio drove into the driveway, they saw the white Camaro parked in the driveway with its hood up and a man working beneath the engine compartment, later identified as Michael Thompson, 29, of Mokelumne Hill, Seawell said.

See the complete story in Friday's Union Democrat.