The man accused of shooting a San Diego Police Department officer last week in Chollas Creek made his first court appearance Friday.
JC Blake Sartor pleaded not guilty to five counts of attempted premeditated murder on a police officer with a semi-automatic firearm, shooting at an inhabited dwelling, vehicle theft and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Police said the officer started following Sartor when he learned the truck he was driving had been reported stolen a few days earlier.
Investigators said that’s when Sartor slammed the truck into a curb and then took off running. As the officer was chasing Sartor, Sarotr shot at the officer at least once and hit him in the arm.
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Superior Court records indicate Sartor is connected to more than a dozen criminal cases dating back to December 2011.
The Deputy District Attorney could not go into much detail about the case, but did emphasize that any time anyone tries to shoot an officer, that person will be prosecuted according to the full extent of the law.
“It’s pretty rare in San Diego when a peace officer, an attempt is made on a peace officer’s life and obviously it's something that we take very seriously, so it’s not like we get these cases every week. Unfortunately, we’ve had a few in the last year – a couple in the last 6-7 months,” Deputy District Attorney Clay Biddle said.
If found guilty, the maximum penalty Sartor could face is life in prison.
His readiness conference is set for June 28 and his preliminary hearing is set for June 30.
