The man who shot San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Sgt. Dominic Vaca to death after an attempted traffic stop in Yucca Valley had a warrant out for his arrest, the Sheriff’s Department said Wednesday (June 2). Bilal Winston Shabazz, 29, of Lancaster, was being sought on a no-bail warrant out of Los Angeles County. Monday, deputies from the Morongo Basin station were doing extra patrols for off-highway vehicle violations at 12:33 p.m. when they saw a man, later identified as Shabazz, riding a motorcycle without a license plate and tried to pull him over near Paxton Road and Imperial Drive. Shabazz sped away and later abandoned the motorcycle in the area of Barberry Avenue and Crestview Drive, running through several neighborhood properties and into the open desert. Vaca caught up with Shabazz and attempted to detain him, but Shabazz shot Vaca. Other deputies were able to find Shabazz and shot him in an exchange of gunfire, killing him. A loaded handgun was found next to Shabazz, and two ammunition magazines were found on him. Wednesday, County Board of Supervisors Chairman Curt Hagman ordered flags at all county government facilities to fly at half-staff in honor of Vaca. Hagman encouraged all county residents, businesses, and government agencies to do the same.
