San Diego, CA

Domestic violence suspect sues San Diego police officer who shot him after he fled with baby

Published

1 year ago

September 28, 2024

Domestic violence suspect sues San Diego police officer who shot him after he fled with baby

A man who allegedly threatened to shoot his former girlfriend and was later shot by a San Diego police officer after fleeing with the couple’s baby has filed a federal lawsuit accusing the officer and the city of civil rights violations, including excessive force.

Steffon Nutall, 29, was shot on the evening of May 19 in the city’s Chollas View neighborhood after his former girlfriend called 911 when he allegedly entered her apartment with a gun, threatened to kill everyone if police came — and then fled with their 11-month-old daughter, according to a San Diego police video.

Nutall was shot several times outside a nearby apartment a short time later. He has been charged with multiple felonies, including assault with a firearm, criminal threats, child endangerment and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, police said. He has pleaded not guilty and is in custody without bail pending a preliminary hearing.

Police later found he had dropped his weapon and was not armed when he was shot, authorities said. The baby was found nearby and unhurt.

The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday, claims Officer Robert Gladysz “unreasonably and unjustifiably” discharged his weapon though Nutall never posed a “credible threat of violence,” leaving him with injuries that limit his ability to move his legs and in need of a wheelchair.

“It’s a bad shooting. His back was turned to the officer. There was clearly no gun,” attorney Douglas Hopson, whose firm filed the lawsuit, said Saturday. “There’s too many facts, too many circumstances that should have made it clear that Nutall was not armed.”

Hopson said Nutall went to the apartment because he feared for his child’s safety, declining to elaborate. “He’s there to get his child, because he, in his mind, believes his child is in danger,” he said.

Police have said that Nutall was holding the baby when he was shot, but Hopson said that was not true. The city of San Diego and police did not respond Saturday to messages seeking comment.

San Diego police had earlier released a 10-minute video of the incident that includes the 911 call, police attempts to find Nutall and the shooting, which occurred at 10:27 p.m.

The 911 call is partly unintelligible, but police said his former girlfriend opened her bedroom door after he threatened to shoot through it. A man, identified as Nutall, then grabs the phone, not knowing who is on it and that police were on the way, and states, “If the police come to this door I am going to kill everything in here. I promise you that. So you call 911, I’m killing people.”

When officers arrived, police said Nutall ran away with the infant, and he was later found hiding in bushes near other apartments. The body camera of Gladysz shows the officer ordering Nutall to show his hands or he will shoot, right before the man darts out of the bushes and Gladysz fires several shots.

The officer can be heard saying Nutall pointed a gun at him but he didn’t see the baby. The police later found the gun in the parking lot of a trolley station that Nutall had run through while trying to evade police. In a video still, police highlighted what they said was an object in his right hand that Gladysz may have mistaken for a weapon. The infant was found near Nutall after he was shot. Police said he was holding the girl under his left arm at the time of the shooting.

However, Nutall had already put his daughter down prior to the shooting, Hopson said, “expecting and praying it wouldn’t be the case that the officers would just start shooting at him.”

An investigation into the shooting is being conducted by the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, which will be reviewed by the San Diego County district attorney’s office to determine if criminal charges are warranted against officers, according to the police video.

The investigation is being monitored by the FBI and the U.S. attorney’s office, while the Police Department’s internal affairs will look to see if any policies were violated. A shooting review board will also evaluate the officers’ tactics, according to the video.

Gladysz, a patrol officer, had been employed by the department for a year and a half prior to the shooting, according to the sheriff’s department.

The federal lawsuit seeks various damages and claims the shooting resulted from “policies, practices and customs” that result in “unconstitutionally inadequate treatment for individuals of [African] descent.”

Hopson said Nutall was shot four times, once in each limb, and has suffered nerve or orthopedic damage that has made him bound to a wheelchair. He was hospitalized for more than a month after the shooting, and his release on bond is being sought so he can receive better medical care, Hopson said.

The lawsuit was filed by Hannah Hopson, a California attorney who is a partner in the Hopson Firm, a Chicago law firm founded by her father Douglas Hopson. Hopson said he plans to seek permission to participate in the case, though he is not admitted to the state bar here. Another attorney is representing Nutall in the criminal case.

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San Diego, CA

Padres roster review: Miguel Andujar

Published

3 hours ago

March 11, 2026

Press Room

Padres roster review: Miguel Andujar – San Diego Union-Tribune

MIGUEL ANDUJAR

Position(s): Third base, left field, first base
Bats / Throws: Right / Right
2026 opening day age: 31
Height / Weight: 6-foot / 211 pounds
How acquired: Signed as a free agent in February 2026
Contract status: Will make $1.5 million in 2026, with the opportunity to earn another $2 million-plus in performance bonuses; his $4 million guarantee includes a $2.5 million buyout against an $8 million mutual option for 2027.
fWAR in 2025: 1.1
Key 2025 stats: .318 AVG, .352 OBP, .470 SLG, 10 HRs, 44 RBIs, 36 runs, 17 walks, 49 strikeouts, 1 steal (94 games, 341 plate appearances)

STAT TO NOTE

.986 — Andujar’s OPS against left-handed pitching in 2025, the second-highest mark of his career and well above his career .807 OPS against southpaws. Andujar had been below .600 in 2021 and 2022 before jumping to .871 in 2023 and a career-high .995 in 2024.

Up — Signed for $700,000 out of the Dominican Republic as a 16-year-old in the international amateur market, Andujar needed two years to get out of the Yankees’ rookie-ball affiliate in the Gulf Coast League and finally cracked top-100 lists ahead of the 2018 season — No. 59 at Baseball America and No. 65 at MLB.com — after reaching Triple-A following a 16-homer season (.850 OPS). Andujar even made his MLB debut as a 22-year-old in 2017 and looked like he’d be a big part of the Yankees’ future after pairing 27 homers and 92 RBIs with an .855 OPS in finishing second to Shohei Ohtani in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2018. But a right shoulder labrum tear derailed Andujar in 2019 and Andujar was never able to grab a starting job again in New York. The Pirates claimed him late in 2022 and then the Athletics claimed him after the 2023 season. By then, he’d developed into a platoon player with defensive limitations. Andujar had a .697 OPS in 75 games in his first year with the Athletics and a .765 OPS in 60 games last year when, after missing time with a right oblique strain, he was shipped to the Reds for a minor league pitcher. Andujar went on to hit .359/.400/.544 with four homers and 17 RBIs in 34 games to help the Reds lock up a wild-card spot. He was 0-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout in the NL Wild Card Series sweep at the hands of the Dodgers.

Miguel Andujar #41 of the San Diego Padres participates in drills during spring training workouts at the Peoria Sports Complex on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026 in Peoria, Ariz.(Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

2026 OUTLOOK

The need for right-handed balance in the lineup was painfully obvious in the Padres’ NL Wild Card Series loss to the Cubs, so Andujar became a target after 1B/OF Ryan O’Hearn walked as a free agent. Expect Andujar to get at-bats against lefties as either a DH, first base, third base or left field — the spots he’s been playing in spring training.

ROSTER RANKINGS

1. OF Fernando Tatis Jr.
2. 3B Manny Machado
3. OF Jackson Merrill
4. RHP Nick Pivetta
5. RHP Michael King
6. RHP Mason Miller
7. OF Ramón Laureano
8. SS Xander Bogaerts
9. LHP Adrián Morejón
10. RHP Jeremiah Estrada
11. RHP Jason Adam
12. 2B Jake Cronenworth
13. RHP Joe Musgrove
14. RHP Randy Vásquez
15. INF Miguel Andujar
16. OF Gavin Sheets
17. LHP JP Sears
18. RHP Yu Darvish
19. RHP Bradgley Rodriguez
20. RHP David Morgan
21. C Freddy Fermin
22. LHP Wandy Peralta
23. C Luis Campusano
24. LHP Yuki Matsui
25. INF Sung-Mun Song
26. RHP German Marquez
27. RHP Matt Waldron
28. OF Bryce Johnson
29. OF/1B Nick Castellanos
30. RHP Ron Marinaccio
31. RHP Bryan Hoeing
32. LHP Kyle Hart
33. INF Will Wagner
34. RHP Garrett Hawkins
35. RHP Miguel Mendez
36. RHP Daison Acosta
37. RHP Ty Adcock
38. RHP Alek Jacob
39. INF Mason McCoy

Removed from 40-man roster

OF Tirso Ornelas (designated for assignment)
RHP Jhony Brito (60-day injured list)

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San Diego, CA

San Diego Bishop Is Out of a Job

Published

15 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of the Chaldean Catholic bishop of San Diego, California, a decision announced Tuesday by the Vatican after the bishop was arrested on embezzlement charges. The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office said last week it had arrested Bishop Emmanuel Shaleta on Thursday at San Diego International Airport as he tried to leave the country, reports the AP. The office said it acted after someone from Shaleta’s church provided a statement and documentation “showing potential embezzlement from the church.” Shaleta was being held on $125,000 bail on eight counts of embezzlement, money laundering, and aggravated white collar crime, the statement said. Shaleta pleaded not guilty on Monday, reports NBC San Diego.

“He was on his way to Germany,” prosecutor Joel Madero said. “Given his access to funds, the fact that he had over $9,000 in the bag when he was stopped, and the fact that he has these international ties … I do believe that some bail to ensure he shows up is appropriate.” There was no immediate reply to an email sent to Shaleta’s parish, St. Peter Chaldean Church, seeking comment and contact information for his attorney. The Vatican said in its daily bulletin Tuesday that Leo had accepted Shaleta’s resignation under the code of canon law for eastern rite churches that allows for the pope to agree if a bishop asks to step down.

Leo actually accepted the resignation when Shaleta presented it in February, but an announcement was not made until Tuesday, according to the Vatican embassy in Washington. The Holy See appears to have waited to announce the decision to avoid interfering with the police investigation. Leo named Bishop Saad Hanna Sirop as a temporary administrator. Shaleta, 69, was ordained a priest of the Chaldean Catholic Church in Detroit in 1984. He was named to the San Diego branch of the eastern rite Catholic Church in the US in 2017.

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San Diego, CA

Padres roster review: Germán Márquez

Published

1 day ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Padres roster review: Germán Márquez – San Diego Union-Tribune

GERMÁN MÁRQUEZ

Position(s): Right-handed pitcher
Bats / Throws: Right / Right
2026 opening day age: 31
Height / Weight: 6-foot-1 / 230 pounds
How acquired: Signed as a free agent in February 2026
Contract status: Will make $1 million in 2026 with a $750,000 buyout on a mutual option for 2027; can add up to $3.25 million in performance bonuses.
fWAR in 2025: 0.3
Key 2025 stats: 3-16, 6.70 ERA, 83 strikeouts, 48 walks, 1.71 WHIP, .317 opponent average, 126⅓ innings (26 starts)

STAT TO NOTE

36.9 — The percentage of groundballs that Márquez yielded in 2025, a career low and significantly below his career average (48%). Márquez’s groundball rate was regularly above 50% before requiring Tommy John surgery in early 2023. He made one start in 2024 and struggled mightily while making 26 starts last year.

Down — Márquez had a 4.40 ERA through his first seven years in the majors, not bad considering he pitched roughly half his games at one of the best hitting environments in the majors. In fact, Márquez has a 5.17 ERA in his career at Coors Field and a 4.22 ERA in road environments. But Márquez underwent Tommy John surgery early in 2023, made one start in the majors in mid-July in 2024 (4 IP, 3 ER) and struggled throughout his first full year back in the Rockies rotation. The season was so difficult for Márquez that he was actually worse on the road (7.32 ERA) than he was in 11 starts at Coors Field (5.98 ERA). His strikeout rate (5.9 per nine innings) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (1.73) were the worst of his careers, as was his walk rate (3.4 per nine innings), while his hit rate (12.0 per nine innings) was the second worst of his career. On top of that, Márquez’s groundball rate was also the lowest of his career (see stat to note) and ranked in the bottom 22nd percentile of the league and his hard-hit rate (48.5%) and average exit velocity (91.7 mph) both ranked in the bottom 2 percentile of the league. One reason: a 94.8 mph four-seamer is down a few ticks than the height of his effectiveness. Márquez reached free agency after the season and signed with the Padres in February.

2026 OUTLOOK

Márquez has a big-league deal with the Padres, but he’ll have to rediscover his pre-elbow-reconstruction form to hold onto a roster spot, as RHP Griffin Canning (Achilles) is expected to push for a spot at some point this season and the likes of LHP JP Sears, RHP Matt Waldron and minor league signees like Marco Gonzales could warrant looks if Márquez’s struggles continue into 2026.

German Marquez #33 of the San Diego Padres participates in drills during spring training workouts at the Peoria Sports Complex on Monday, Feb. 16, 2026 in Peoria, Ariz.(Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)