SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County District Attorney Jeff Rosell announced Thursday that no criminal charges will be filed against three county sheriff deputies for shooting a suspect who first shot at them during an incident in April.
Eli James Burry, 40, has been held without bail in Santa Cruz County Jail since April 23.
“The use of force was justified based on the totality of the circumstances,” Rosell stated in a press release.
Deputies were investigating a suspicious vehicle at 7960 Soquel Drive at the rear of Aptos Village Square around 10:50pm on April 6 when they saw that one of the people inside had a handgun.
When the deputies tried to detain Burry, he fired one shot, and one of the deputies returned fire, striking Burry.
The incident was not Burry’s first encounter with law enforcement.
On March 5, 2020, he was arrested on several charges at his home on the 2700 block of Main Street in Soquel. During that search deputies found 444 grams of methamphetamine, packaging and scales, 17 firearms—including two that were unregistered assault weapons—two shotguns, several handguns and more than 5,000 rounds of ammunition.
