crime & safety
Update: Amphib Base Petty Officer Shot by Police Will Face a Trial
Esteban Nandin is accused of exhibiting a firearm in an October incident that resulted in him being wounded by San Diego officers.
By Jennifer Vigil, Patch Staff
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Update, 5 p.m. Monday: Nandin was ordered to stand trial by Judge Leo Valentine Jr. His next court appearance is set for Jan. 10.
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A Navy non-commissioned officer who was shot after he allegedly raised a military assault rifle in the direction of a police officer was scheduled to be at the downtown courthouse Monday for a preliminary hearing.
Petty Officer Second Class Esteban Nandin, who is stationed at Coronado's Naval Amphibious Base, is charged with exhibiting a firearm and faces three years in prison if convicted, Deputy District Attorney Robert Eacret said at Nandin's arraignment in October.
A judge will decide at the end of the preliminary hearing whether there's sufficient evidence to order Nandin to stand trial.
San Diego police officers were called to a six-story residential unit, above commercial space and just south of Horton Plaza, shortly before 3 a.m. Oct. 14.
Someone inside 606 Third Ave. told a 911 dispatcher that a man wearing a tactical vest and carrying a military-style assault-type weapon was in a first-floor corridor, police said.
Officers entered the lobby of the building and spotted a man later identified as Nandin with a gun. He saw the officers and allegedly began to raise the barrel of the weapon toward them. The officer closest to Nandin, an 18-year veteran of the department, responded by firing two rounds from his duty weapon, striking him, police said.
Nandin retreated into the stairwell and a SWAT team was called. About 50 minutes later, Nandin, bleeding from his chest and arm, emerged from the building unarmed and was taken into custody.
A loaded military-style assault rifle, gas mask, handgun and a body armor vest were found in the stairwell, police said.
Authorities have not said what Nandin's motive may have been in showing up armed at the residential complex and pointing a weapon at an officer.