After Virginia State Police shot and killed a driver on I-95 in Northern Virginia late Wednesday, two passengers who were riding with the man face charges.
State police released new details Friday on the deadly police shooting, which they say followed a carjacking, a police chase and a crash with the suspect that made a police vehicle flip.
Andy Ernesto Espinoza Garay, of Lanham, Maryland, was the driver killed by police, the department said. He was 26.
Merlin Alexander Cruz-Perdomo, 21, of Lanham, and Jonathan Bonilla-Baires, 24, of Hyattsville, were charged with grand larceny. Cruz-Perdomo was in stable condition at a hospital and Bonilla-Baires was in state custody and uninjured, police said.
The police chase began about 10:15 p.m. Wednesday after a state trooper tried to pull over a Kia Sportage. U.S. Park Police reported the SUV had been carjacked on Suitland Parkway in Maryland about a half-hour earlier, state police said.
On a police dispatch audio recording, an official says someone reportedly stopped to help a driver whose car was disabled and four people jumped into their vehicle, drove off and began “cruising around.”
The driver refused to stop, and the trooper began chasing the SUV south on I-95, according to state police.
During the chase, the suspect hit a Virginia State Police vehicle, which flipped. The trooper inside was not hurt.
Traffic camera video shows the Kia darting around other vehicles with at least a half-dozen officers in pursuit.
Troopers warned each other the carjacking suspect could be armed.
“I’m being advised, unknown weapon at this time. Use caution,” an official on a dispatch recording says.
Finally, troopers forced the driver to stop near mile marker 150, near Quantico.
“He just rammed me! He just rammed me! … I’m going to take him out,” a law enforcement official can be heard saying on a dispatch recording.
The driver refused police commands, according to state police.
The department said the driver “made multiple abrupt furtive movements with his hands, causing state troopers on scene to utilize their duty weapons.”
“Shots fired! Shots fired!” someone is heard shouting on dispatch audio.
Espinoza Garay was shot and was pronounced dead at the scene, state police said. Police said he was wearing a ski mask.
Four troopers involved in the shooting were put on administrative leave pending an investigation. Investigators will turn over information to the Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney, state police said.
