Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
- The Utah County Attorney's Office found Saratoga Springs officer Dean Sekona was not legally justified in shooting a man.
- Sekona shot Fernando Valenzuela as he drove away from a traffic stop on Oct. 17, 2024.
- Valenzuela was unarmed; the case could lead to criminal charges against Sekona.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Utah County Attorney's Office has determined that a Saratoga Springs police officer was not legally justified in injuring a man by shooting him in the back as the unarmed man was driving away from a routine traffic stop in 2024.
"Because I have concluded that officer (Dean) Sekona's use of deadly force was not justified, this case will be screened by the executive team of the Utah County Attorney's Office to determine whether the evidence supports the filing of criminal charges, and if so, what charges should be filed," Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray wrote in his final report on the incident released last month.
Fernando Valenzuela, 43, was pulled over for a minor traffic violation on Oct. 17, 2024. His girlfriend, his girlfriend's teen daughter and two dogs were in the car with him. Valenzuela told the officer he did not have a license or identification card and then gave the officer a false name, according to the report.
Valenzuela claimed he had crossed the border illegally and did not have any ID. For nearly an hour, Sekona went back and forth between the car he had pulled over and his own patrol car as he talked with other officers about his options for detaining Valenzuela or impounding the vehicle. The report says everyone was polite and calm during this period.
About 50 minutes into the traffic stop, however, an investigator from the Utah Attorney General's Office learned that Valenzuela — whom he knew by another alias — was pulled over. The investigator immediately called the Saratoga Springs Police Department to contact the officer who made the traffic stop.
"This new information changed the tenor of the stop from the officers' perspective. Although Valenzuela remained in his car without incident, officer Sekona came to view the stop in an entirely different light," the report states. "After officer Sekona learned that Valenzuela gave him a false name, that five years ago, Valenzuela was found with a gun under his car seat, and that the attorney general's office was investigating Valenzuela for drug trafficking, officer Sekona had reasonable suspicion to believe that Valenzuela might be armed and dangerous."
The misdemeanor traffic stop then became a felony stop, meaning Sekona and the other officers on scene were required to treat it with greater caution.
"As soon as he exited his cruiser, officer Sekona aimed his patrol rifle at (the driver) and began shouting commands," Gray's report says. "The other two officers on scene also drew their sidearms and aimed them at (Valenzuela)."
Valenzuela was ordered to raise his hands and exit the vehicle. Valenzuela raised and lowered his arm a couple of times — possibly to get his seat belt off. Eventually, however, rather than exit the car, he began to drive off, according to the report.
"After a couple of seconds passed, (the) driver put his hand back down, out of the officer's view; the brake lights disengaged; and the Mercedes began to roll forward, then began to accelerate away as the front driver's side window began to roll up. In response, Officer Sekona fired two shots at the driver with his rifle. The first bullet entered the Mercedes through the rear driver's side window, passed through the driver's seat, and struck the driver's back near the lower left shoulder. The second bullet hit the base of the division bar separating the rear driver-side roll-down window and the rear quarter window, then ricocheted into the driver's side mirror," the report states.
"Almost one hour into a traffic stop, officer Sekona fired two shots at Mr. Valenzuela as he began to drive away from officers who were trying to arrest him at gunpoint. One bullet struck Valenzuela in the back and lodged in the lower lobe of his left lung, causing it to collapse. Though seriously injured, Valenzuela continued to drive away until he abandoned his car on Redwood Road and (ran)," according to Gray's report.
He was spotted 20 minutes later by a helicopter crew and was taken to a local hospital. Valenzuela survived the shooting.
The investigation found that Valenzuela was not armed and "no gun was ever found."
Gray notes in his report that Sekona "rightly became concerned for his safety and the safety of the other officers" when he learned of the new information from the attorney general's investigator.
"The question is whether Valenzuela's subsequent behavior, coupled with what officer Sekona had learned about him, supported probable cause to believe that Valenzuela posed an immediate threat of death or serious bodily injury to the officers or others. I conclude that the answer is no," Gray wrote. "And in the end, officer Sekona did not fire his rifle at Valenzuela in response to his hand movements. Officer Sekona only fired his weapon after Valenzuela began to drive away — when any possible threat to the officers or others diminished."
While Valenzuela did drive off to avoid arrest and interfered with the arresting officers, "those offenses also are not inherently dangerous to officers. Thus, the crimes at issue here did not justify the use of deadly force," the report concludes.
Furthermore, Gray notes that had the young girl in the back seat "been leaning forward, or had the car moved a little faster, the bullet may very well have struck (her) or even the girlfriend, instead of Valenzuela. Thus, based on all the circumstances at the time, officer Sekona's firing of his rifle created a greater risk to innocent bystanders than permitting Valenzuela to drive away."
AnnElise Harrison, a spokeswoman for Saratoga Springs, says the city is "fully cooperating with the ongoing investigation and remains committed to transparency and accountability. Given the active nature of the county attorney's review for possible charges, the city will refrain from commenting on specific details, legal implications, or potential outcomes to ensure the investigation's integrity is maintained. We will provide updates as appropriate once the investigative process concludes."
