The Coroner’s Office has identified the suspect killed during an officer involved shooting as Aaron Allen Marchese, 30, of Fresno.
Just before 9:00 am Friday, Fresno Police received a report of an armed man walking in the area of Shaw and Hayes Ave. in Fresno. A witness claimed the man cocked a shotgun and tucked it in his pants. A uniformed Fresno Police officer responded in a marked patrol car. While en route, the officer radioed for backup officers. Both Fresno Police officers and Fresno County Sheriff’s deputies began to drive toward the location with lights and sirens on. The original officer who took the call arrived at the southwest corner of Shaw and Hayes and found a man (Marchese) matching the suspect’s description. The officer got out of his car to speak with the man and ordered him to show his hands. The suspect ignored the officer’s commands and began to walk toward a home located at a nearby county address. The officer followed the suspect and continued to tell him to put his hands up. The suspect stopped and began to reach toward an object tucked in his waistband. The officer observed what he perceived to be a gun, so he fired rounds at the suspect, striking him. The officer immediately gave the suspect CPR and requested medical help from dispatchers. An ambulance took the suspect to Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno where he later died.
Fresno Sheriff’s homicide detectives have taken over the OIS investigation. The suspect’s weapon has been recovered and it was determined to be a plastic toy gun. However, the portion of the gun seen by the officer looked very much like a real gun. The officer involved in the shooting was not wearing a body camera.
Aaron Marchese does have an extensive criminal history. A sheriff’s deputy arrested him last night on the 4900 block of N. Hayes Ave. Marchese was found to be in possession of methamphetamine, a meth pipe and he was on probation. He was booked into the Fresno County Jail. His probation hold was denied and he was released with a citation for the two misdemeanor charges.
Anyone with additional information on this case is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office at (559) 600-3111 or Crime Stoppers at (559) 498-STOP (7867).
