The 31-year old man shot and killed last week by a La Plata County Sheriff’s Office deputy north of Durango has been identified as Ernest Pino of New Mexico, according to the La Plata County Coroner’s Office.
The shooting occurred about 2:50 p.m. Nov. 4 in the 28000 block of U.S. Highway 550, about 2 miles north of city limits.
A Sheriff’s Office deputy was responding to reports of Pino and a woman involved in a physical disturbance inside a moving vehicle traveling north on Highway 550 when shots were fired, according to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
A preliminary investigation, including review of officer body-camera footage, indicates the female passenger ran toward law enforcement for help, according to CBI. Pino, armed with an ax handle and baseball bat, advanced toward the woman and the deputy, a CBI release said.
The deputy fired his service weapon. The number of shots fired was not disclosed in the release.
The names of the woman and the deputy had not been released as of Monday.
Per protocol, the deputy was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by CBI and the Southwest Regional Shoot Team, the release said.
Some witnesses gave accounts that differed from the CBI release, including that Pino was unarmed and that he was shot five times at close range.
epond@durangoherald.com
