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Ricardo Alfonso Cerna (1956 – December 19, 2003) was a Guatemalan immigrant to the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
who died by suicide in 2003 using a gun in an interrogation room in the
San Bernardino County San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,181, ...
Sheriff's office in Muscoy, California, California. The room's video recording system was running and recorded the event. He was 47 years old.


Background

Cerna was stopped by Sheriff's
Deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spai ...
Michael Parham for a traffic violation on December 19, 2003. He attempted to escape in his car and then later on foot. During the pursuit, he shot Parham twice in the abdomen, but the wound was not fatal. Cerna was arrested shortly afterward. The San Bernardino Police, the County Sheriff's Department, and the California Highway Patrol were all involved in the chase, but during his apprehension, no one ensured he was properly searched. Video surveillance footage showed that Cerna entered the interrogation room and asked head of homicide investigation Officer Bobby Dean for a bottle of water. When Cerna received the water, he started drinking and Dean walked out of the room. Now alone, Cerna reached under his pants and retrieved a .45-caliber handgun that he had concealed. He then put the gun up to his head and shot himself in the left temple. Cerna died on the scene. The County Sheriff's Department showed the security camera footage to the media the next day. To avoid
sensationalism In journalism and mass media, sensationalism is a type of editorial tactic. Events and topics in news stories are selected and worded to excite the greatest number of readers and viewers. This style of news reporting encourages biased or emotio ...
, only a limited number of selected reporters were permitted for viewing. Although the police tried to control access, the footage was leaked.


Possible motive

Cerna, who had previously been convicted of other serious crimes, may have understood that he would receive a third strike case for wounding Deputy Parham and possibly preferred to end his own life rather than face a possible
life sentence Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes fo ...
.


References


External links


snopes.com: The Last Interrogation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cerna, Ricardo Alfonso 1956 births 2003 deaths Filmed deaths in the United States Guatemalan emigrants to the United States Deaths in police custody in the United States People from Guatemala City People who committed suicide in prison custody Suicides by firearm in California 2003 suicides Filmed suicides