A man who was shot and killed by Costa Mesa police earlier this week has been identified.
Julius L. Pinson, 48, of Costa Mesa was shot in the front yard of an apartment in the 3000 block of Jeffrey Drive around 10:44 p.m. Tuesday by officers serving out-of-state arrest warrants.
Officers responding to the apartment identified Pinson, who was wanted under the warrants. When the officers tried to arrest him, Pinson became violently combative and brandished a handgun, police officials said in a statement.
After a physical altercation, shots were exchanged between Pinson and an officer.
Pinson was pronounced dead at the scene from a gunshot wound. Two officers sustained minor injuries and were treated by medical staff, officials said.
Pinson was wanted on felony arrest warrants from New Mexico and Texas, police said.
The warrants in New Mexico named him as a suspect in a 2011 case involving criminal sexual penetration of a minor, as well as an unrelated 2011 felony embezzlement case in which he fled to New Mexico.
He was wanted in Texas on suspicion of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, along with an additional embezzlement case.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office Special Assignment Unit is conducting a joint investigation into the shooting with the Costa Mesa Police Department.
