TULARE COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A Tulare County man is facing four counts of attempted murder after allegedly shooting at officers and stabbing another man.
An eight-month-long investigation ended with the suspect, 38-year-old Moses Legazpi, shooting at three Tulare County SWAT Deputies.
According to officials, officers did not fire back. Instead, they struck Legazpi with a bean bag gun on his right thigh.
He was wanted in connection to a targeted attack back on June 1st, 2022. The suspect allegedly stabbed a male victim in the neck early that morning.
The victim was rushed to the hospital in critical condition and has been on life support ever since the incident.
Tulare County Sheriff’s Office and the Exeter Police Department collaborated on resources and officers to bring the attempted murder suspect into custody.
Cell phone video from Tuesday captures a Tulare County SWAT van on its way to the 7200 block of Road 248 in Terra Bella.
According to officials, that’s where Legazpi was staying, and upon authorities’ arrival ran up into a tree.
“He refused to comply and come down,” said Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux.
That’s when the suspect allegedly opened fire on deputies down below him.
“As officers were moving in on the tree, the suspect actually fired three rounds from a pistol, striking the ground around the tactical officers,” said Boudreaux.
Officers then used less-than-lethal resources, but it didn’t work.
“Officers did not return gunfire when they were fired upon. He is being charged with three new counts of attempted homicide upon an officer,” he said.
“Our officers on that morning began investigating the case. They’ve been working on it ever since developing leads,” said Exeter Police Chief John Hall.
According to Hall, officers had the suspect under surveillance and his arrest warrant ready to go for days before his actual arrest.
Investigators asked the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office for more resources because they knew the suspect could be armed and dangerous.
“When we have something like this looking for somebody who has shown a perpetuity for violence, we want to take every precaution possible for not only the officers but the community at large,” said Hall.
Because of recent arrests made in the Goshen Massacre, Boudreaux claims resources have been tight, and it wasn’t until Tuesday they could assist in Legazpi’s capture.
“We had been very busy with the six-person massacre, we were on 24-hour surveillance. So it was very difficult for us to diminish our resources to go and help weeks ago,” said Boudreaux.
Legazpi’s bail is set at $1.5 Million dollars.
