Man Charged With Assault on Officers
The Ventura County district attorney’s office filed charges Tuesday against Dennis Agdeppa, the Ventura man who was shot in the wrist and leg by a California Highway Patrol officer.
Agdeppa, 38, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer and brandishing a firearm at a peace officer.
He is scheduled to be arraigned today in Ventura County Municipal Court.
On May 2, Agdeppa was pursued by CHP Officer George Orozco on California 150 between Santa Paula and Ojai after the officer noticed him driving erratically, a Sheriff’s Department spokesman said.
Agdeppa turned onto a private road, where he drove his car a mile and then crashed into heavy brush. He fled but then stopped and knelt on the ground.
As Orozco tried to handcuff him, Agdeppa grabbed Orozco’s gun and was brandishing it when a second officer, Mark Rasmussen, arrived, CHP officials said.
Rasmussen fired several times at Agdeppa, hitting him once in the wrist and once in the leg, CHP officials said. Agdeppa was taken to Ojai Valley Hospital for treatment, and was later transferred to the infirmary at Ventura County Jail.
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