The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office has concluded that two Sheriff’s deputies last year lawfully shot and killed a suicidal man who was charging at them with a knife.
Jose Neftali Martinez-Nolasco, 43, had barricaded himself in his car for hours after a traffic stop, as San Jose Police and Santa Clara County Sheriff’s deputies tried to get him to surrender peacefully. After unsuccessfully using several types of less-lethal force, the man – intoxicated with amphetamines and telling them he wanted to die – charged at them with a 9-inch knife.
The public report by District Attorney Jeff Rosen concluded that “the evidence overwhelmingly shows that Nolasco had no interest in resolving the situation peacefully or accepting any of the resources or assistance deputies offered.”
“Instead,” according to the report, Martinez-Nolasco “deliberately created a scenario designed to leave the responding officers with no safe alternative.”
The District Attorney’s Office investigates all fatal law enforcement encounters to determine if the lethal force was legal. By law, officers can use deadly force when they or others face imminent danger.
Around 7:30pm, on Oct. 27, 2025, Sheriff's deputy Christian Spinola made a routine traffic stop at Fruitdale and Leigh avenues in San Jose on a vehicle with expired registration tags.
The DA’s report said the driver, Nolasco, pulled over but then quickly pulled away. He continued driving a short distance before pulling over again. Nolasco refused to exit the vehicle and began obstructing his windows and barricading himself with objects from inside his vehicle. A deputy radioed for emergency assistance from San Jose Police and Sheriff’s deputies.
This is the prosecutors’ account of the fatal encounter:
For two hours, deputies – aided by a mental health crisis team – negotiated with an erratic and clearly armed Nolasco.
Deputies utilized three patrol vehicles to pin Nolasco and his vehicle in from behind, the front, and the driver’s side, to prevent his escape and force him to exit from the passenger side. Deputies also used a chain ball to break Nolasco’s rear driver’s side window.
Nolasco told them that he was struggling mentally and financially and said he would rather die than return to jail. He further told deputies that he was armed with a knife and that the only way the situation would end was if deputies killed him. Nolasco said he was suicidal and had “talked with death.” A deputy advised Nolasco that there were resources available to him and professionals at the scene who could help him, but Nolasco was not receptive.
Around 9:30pm, a deputy fired multiple pepper ball rounds through the breached rear window into the vehicle to force Nolasco to exit. Nolasco then exited through the passenger door carrying a large knife and charged at the deputies despite their commands to drop the knife. Two deputies fired multiple 40mm less-lethal projectile rounds.
After being hit by the rounds, Nolasco fell to the ground, still holding the knife.
Nolasco soon recovered and charged at the deputies again with the knife. The deputies once again gave Nolasco commands to drop the knife and fired more 40 mm rounds, but Nolasco did not drop the knife or stop. Body-worn camera footage shows Deputy Jose Rios and Deputy Douglas Ulrich, fearing for their own safety and the safety of the other deputies, fired several gunshots at Nolasco. Nolasco was shot a total of six times.
Deputies immediately began providing life-saving measures until medical personnel took over. Nolasco was then transported to Valley Medical Center by EMS, where he was later pronounced deceased.
A preliminary toxicology screening was positive for methamphetamine and amphetamines, the DA’s report said..
