Fresno County deputy shoots suspect after home invasion threat

A Fresno County deputy shot 24-year-old Juwan Priddie after he broke into a Fresno home, threatened to kill the people inside, and then struggled with the deputy beside a white work van in central Fresno. Priddie was hospitalized in critical condition after the shooting, and the deputy later received treatment for minor injuries.

Deputies first responded around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday to a home near Olive and Cornelia avenues after a man broke down the door of a house occupied by people inside. By the time the deputy arrived, the suspect had fled. The homeowners described him as a taller Black man driving a white work van with a ladder rack.

About 20 minutes later, a 911 call came in from a home on Garfield Avenue, south of Shields Avenue. A taller Black man in a white work van was on the property, threatening to kill the residents and refusing to leave. Because the description matched the earlier break-in suspect, the deputy left the Olive and Cornelia scene and went to the Garfield Avenue address.

There, the deputy found the man next to the van. The deputy and Priddie got into a physical struggle, and the deputy fired his gun, striking Priddie. Other deputies rendered medical aid at the scene, and EMS took him to the hospital. The deputy was later transported for treatment of minor injuries.

The sheriff’s office identified the suspect as Juwan Priddie of Santa Maria, California. He had been electronically booked into jail, with bail set at $100,000. He faced attempted burglary, resisting arrest with violence, obstructing an officer, making death threats, assault, battery on a police officer, and battery causing serious injury.

The sheriff’s office asked anyone with information about Priddie or the white work van to contact Detective Jose Leon at 559-600-8221 or Valley Crime Stoppers at 559-498-7867.