On November 29, 2019, shortly after 9 PM, Modesto Police Officers responded to the Motel 6 located at 1920 West Orangeburg Avenue in Northwest Modesto to assist a bail bondsman with taking a wanted subject into custody. The wanted subject was identified as 54-year-old Raymond Lee of Modesto. Lee had outstanding felony warrants. During the contact at the hotel room, Lee brandished a weapon towards officers. Two officers fired their weapons, striking Lee, who died at the scene from his injuries. It was later discovered that Lee’s weapon was a BB gun.

The officers involved in this shooting have been identified as Officer Jeffrey Brandon, who has been with the department for three years and Officer Cameron Irinaga, a one-year veteran of the department. Both officers were not injured and have been placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure for all officer involved shootings. Three separate and comprehensive investigations are initiated when our officers are involved in a critical incident such as this. The Modesto Police Department is conducting both a criminal and administrative investigation and the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office is conducting their own independent review of this incident.