Rival Campers Who Opened Fire Turn Out to Be Sheriff’s Deputies
An apparent booze-fueled dispute over loud music between two groups at a Chino campground over the weekend escalated to the point where men from both sides drew guns and opened fire.
No one was hurt, but the two alleged gunmen have plenty to explain.
It turns out that the rival gun-toting campers were both Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies.
Authorities suspect the off-duty cops learned they were colleagues only after their campground showdown.
Chino police officers were called to Prado Regional Park early Sunday morning. They arrested the deputies — Dejay Barber, 44, and Matthew Rincon, 24 — on suspicion of negligent discharge of a firearm.
Chino police Lt. Wes Simmons, when asked if he’d ever come across a similar scene, couldn’t stifle a chuckle: “That’s not fair for you to ask me that,” he said, before acknowledging that he hadn’t.
Sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore said both deputies have been relieved of duty with pay. He said the men brandished their guns in a “threatening manner.”
They did not fire at each other, he said, but into the air.
“Alcohol is suspected,” Whitmore said. “This is gross negligence.”
It’s unclear if there were other campers nearby when the off-duty deputies began shooting. Multiple rounds were fired.
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