Riverside Sheriff’s Sgt. Dan Ponder did not have legal immunity when he shot and killed Clemente Najera-Aguirre, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal ruled March 11.
Ponder shot Najera-Aguirre near Heald Avenue in Lake Elsinore on April 15, 2016, according to the federal complaint filed by Najera-Aguirre’s family.
Najera-Aguirre’s family won a $10 million case against Ponder on April 26, 2023.
Sgt. Wenndy Brito-Gonzalez, speaking for the Sheriff’s Office, confirmed March 24 that Ponder’s employment with the department continues.
The shooting
Ponder had responded to reports that someone in Lake Elsinore was destroying property with a bat, and had
