Sonora, CA…On 9/2/17, at about 0202 hours, Officer Hankins was standing outside of his patrol car on Washington Street, Near the Sonora Inn. A black car drove by him going N/B on Washington St. There was a “Loud pop,” as the car passed by him. A guy standing about 100′ south of him started yelling. Officer Hankins got into his patrol car and drove towards the male subject who was yelling. The Male subject showed Officer Hankins that he had been hit with a projectile which had been launched from the dark car that went by them. Officer Hankins could see that the male subject had a welt on his hip and said the car that just passed shot a projectile at him. Officer Hankins caught up to the dark colored vehicle and made a traffic stop on it in the area of Sonora High School.

There were four occupants in the vehicle. Two Juveniles and 24-year-old Shawn Finigan and 18-year-old Dylan Hicks were in the back seats. Officer Hankins located two .22 rifles in the back seat along with a blow gun and pellet gun. We found numerous expended and unexpended casings in the vehicle. We were able to determine during the investigation that Finigan and Hicks were shooting the guns and blow gun. Finigan launched a projectile from the blow gun at a high velocity and hit the male in the street downtown. Finigan then moved his .22 rifle over, as they passed by Officer Hankins’ location and it fired one round through the back window almost striking Hicks in the head.

Finigan was booked into the Tuolumne County Jail for charges of negligent discharge of a firearm, assault with a deadly weapon and carrying a loaded a firearm in a vehicle/public place. His bail was set at $40,000 and later was released on bail from jail.

Hicks was booked for a misdemeanor charge of carrying a loaded firearm in a vehicle. His bail was set at $5,000 and was released to appear in court at a later date.