Sacramento police said Wednesday that the man who allegedly fired at an officer after the officer tried to stop him, thinking he fit the description of a recent armed robbery suspect, was not in fact the man wanted for the robbery.
But police also said the man, 20-year-old Devonte Fields, was a validated gangster and felony probationer armed with a handgun - suggesting why he likely fled from police.
Officers arrested Fields Tuesday night at the conclusion of a three-hour standoff at a Valley Hi Drive apartment complex, which law enforcement officers from across the county had surrounded.
A patrol officer had attempted to contact Fields in the area of Valley Hi Drive and Bamford Drive, thinking the man matched the description of a suspect wanted in a recent armed robbery, according to police. Fields fled, and as the officer gave chase on foot, Fields allegedly fired at the officer, police said. The officer was not hit, and Fields disappeared into the apartment complex.
Fields was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on suspicion of attempted murder, possession of a firearm by a felon, resisting arrest, carrying a loaded firearm in a vehicle in a public place, and discharging a firearm in a grossly negligent manner - all felonies, according to jail booking records. He is being held without bail.
In 2009, Fields pleaded no contest to resisting arrest and possession of a firearm by a felon, according to online Sacramento Superior Court records. He was sentenced to one year in jail and five years of formal, searchable probation, and he has violated the terms of his probation twice since then, records show.
In 2007, Fields, then 16, pleaded no contest to receiving a stolen vehicle through theft or extortion, according to the records. For that felony conviction, Fields received 248 days in jail and five years of formal, searchable probation.
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