SP suspect shot during an April DEA drug raid seeks $35 million

July 16, 2002
Santa Paula News

The family of a Santa Paula man who was left paralyzed after being shot by a federal law enforcement agent during an April drug raid, has filed claims against the city, Ventura County and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

By Peggy KellySanta Paula TimesThe family of a Santa Paula man who was left paralyzed after being shot by a federal law enforcement agent during an April drug raid, has filed claims against the city, Ventura County and the Drug Enforcement Administration.The claim, filed in June by family members of Edward Barron, seeks $35 million in damages.Barron, 22, was shot once in the head and three times in the cheek at about 7:50 p.m. by a DEA agent on April 17 in the front yard of his 600 block West Santa Barbara Street home. Barron, who according to SPPD Chief Bob Gonzales, was known to have ties with gangs and an extensive criminal record, was suspected of selling drugs out of his home, where he lived with his wife and three young children.The shooting came near the end of a four-month joint SPPD and DEA drug and gang investigation that ultimately resulted in 21 drug-related arrests throughout the city.
Santa Paula and Drug Enforcement Agency investigators dressed in tactical equipment and using the SPPD High Risk Entry Team members had gone to Barron’s residence in April to arrest him. As officers approached, Barron, who was outside with a friend when officers arrived on scene, retreated to the front door area of his home. Investigators said Barron pulled a handgun from the waistband of his pants and had pointed it at the officers when an unidentified DEA agent fired a handgun, striking Barron in the head and cheek.Barron was transported to Santa Paula Memorial Hospital and then transferred to the Head Trauma Unit of Ventura County Medical Center. He remains paralyzed and hospitalized.After the shooting, authorities detained Barron’s father, wife and several friends for questioning while other family members took the children - a 3-year old daughter and twin sons, now 10 months old - from the residence. All those detained and questioned were released after being interviewed.According to Stanley Raskin, the Barron family attorney, private investigators have interviewed witnesses to the shooting and a forensic expert will show that the bullet hit Barron as he was retreating. Raskin claims that although Barron did have a gun in his waistband, he never drew the weapon and that it was placed on the porch after the shooting by law enforcement authorities at the scene.The shooting incident stemmed from self-defense, and the agent only fired after Barron pulled out the weapon, according to the DEA investigation.



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