SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. -- San Bernardino Police Officer Gabriel Garcia remains in critical condition, police said Wednesday.
Garcia has been in intensive care in a medically induced coma since he was shot in the head during a gun battle Friday morning where the gunman was shot and killed.
Attempted murder of a peace officer and firearms possession charges were filed Tuesday against three men in connection with the shooting. Garcia's partner, a trainee, graduated the police academy in June.
District Attorney Michael A. Ramos announced the filing of charges against Jonathan Contreras, 20, Gonzalo Medina, 22, and Orlando Cruz, 24, all of San Bernardino, during a news conference at the San Bernardino Police Department on Tuesday.
All three were arrested following the gun battle.
Police said Alvarado was a career criminal and longtime member of a Redlands street gang.
Each of the three men, charged with two counts of attempted murder of a peace officer and one count of possession of an assault rifle, pleaded not guilty on Wednesday.
Garcia and his trainee partner were on patrol Friday when they spotted several people in the 1900 block of Garner Avenue shortly after 2 a.m.
They approached the group when 38-year-old Alex David Alvarado, reportedly brandishing a Taurus .38 Special 5-shot revolver and a AK-47 assault rifle, began firing on the officers. Garcia's partner killed Alvarado during the gun battle.
Copyright 2014 - San Bernardino County Sun, Calif.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
