A 68-year-old Garden Grove man has been charged with voluntary manslaughter after prosecutors allege he filmed himself shooting and killing a homeless man while out on a weekday afternoon jog.
Craig Sumner Elliott, a Garden Grove resident, is also facing a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a firearm — for which he apparently had a concealed carry permit — related to the the Sept. 28 killing of 30-year-old Antonio Garcia Avalos, authorities said Monday.
Elliott was jogging around 3 p.m. with his two dogs while using a pushcart in the 10400 block of Katella Avenue, prosecutors say, when he encountered Avalos sleeping in the middle of the sidewalk.
Elliott nudged Avalos with the pushcart to wake him up, prosecutors allege, at which point Avalos awoke and began yelling at Elliott to get away from him.
Elliott grabbed a handgun from his pushcart, prosecutors say, and began filming the encounter. Elliott at the time had an active concealed carry permit issued by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
The video captured Avalos standing up and throwing a shoe at Elliott, prosecutors say. Elliott ducked to avoid the footwear, then shot Avalos three times, prosecutors added.
Avalos later died from the gunshot injuries. Elliott was arrested on Friday.
Elliott was released from custody after posting $100,000 bail.
“This is a tragic set of circumstances that unfolded in the worst possible way over a minor inconvenience of a blocked sidewalk, and a man is dead as a result,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a written statement. “This case is a stark reminder that taking the law into your own hands is never the answer and that there are consequences for your actions.”
Elliott is scheduled to appear in court for an arraignment on Dec. 15. If convicted of the current charges, Elliott faces up to 21 years in state prison. It wasn’t clear from court records if he is currently represented by an attorney.
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