Police Shoot Drug Suspect in Van Nuys

A Los Angeles police narcotics officer shot and wounded a drug suspect Tuesday during an undercover operation in the parking lot behind a Van Nuys fast food restaurant, police said.

The shooting occurred at noon in the parking lot of Bob’s Big Boy in the 16800 block of Sherman Way, where narcotics officers investigating cocaine sales in the area had set up an undercover buy of five kilos of cocaine, said Sgt. Elmer Pellegrino, a member of the LAPD unit that investigates officer-involved shootings.

Jose Perez, 25, was shot as officers identified themselves and attempted to arrest six men, Pellegrino said. Officer Keith Lewis, 31, shot Perez, who was seated in a parked car, after he refused an order to raise his hands and reached into his jacket, Pellegrino said. He added that police found a loaded .380-caliber pistol in Perez’s jacket and two kilos of cocaine in the car.

Perez was taken to Northridge Hospital Medical Center for treatment of a shotgun wound in the shoulder, a hospital spokeswoman said. He was later transferred to the Van Nuys Jail.

Perez and the other five suspects, who were not immediately identified, will be charged with sale of cocaine, Pellegrino said. He said Lewis is an 8 1/2-year veteran of the department.