Man Shot After Allegedly Crashing Party

LANCASTER — An off-duty Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy, called by his neighbor to stop gate-crashers at a New Year’s Eve party, shot and wounded a 21-year-old man who allegedly threatened guests and then the deputy.

The deputy, whose name was not released by the Sheriff’s Department, went to the home in the 30000 block of Tackstem Avenue in Lancaster at about 1:20 Wednesday morning.

The deputy first called the Lancaster sheriff’s station, which dispatched a patrol car, authorities said. The men accused of gate-crashing drove away, but then returned to the house.

The neighbor again called the deputy to say that the men were threatening guests and driving up and down the street in three cars, said Sheriff’s Sgt. Richard Dinsmoor. When the deputy went outside to record the license-plate numbers, the cars stopped and the deputy allegedly saw the men begin vandalizing a parked car, Dinsmoor said.

The men spotted the sheriff’s deputy and walked toward him. One of the men allegedly pointed a rifle in the deputy’s direction. The deputy fired at the man but missed. The suspects continued to approach and the deputy retreated to the garage area of a nearby home, Dinsmoor said.

From there, the deputy shot 21-year-old David Baez, hitting him in the leg, police said. The suspects, including Baez, fled in their cars.

But Baez was arrested shortly afterward at a local hospital where he was being treated for the gunshot wound, Dinsmoor said. He was listed in stable condition and police said he will be booked for assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer. The other suspects were still at large.