Officer Stops Man From Helping Shooting Victim

CHULA VISTA —  A man giving first aid to one of two brothers wounded in a shooting was ordered to stop by an armed, off-duty Coronado police officer, witnesses and police said Thursday. The victim died hours later.

Police said the officer was acting to control the situation and did nothing wrong.

Stephen James Richards, 20, of Fallbrook died at Mercy Hospital in San Diego about two hours after he was shot in the chest Monday night. His brother, James Clay Richards, 22, also of Fallbrook, was released from a hospital late Tuesday after being treated for a gunshot wound in the back.

The pair were shot after a confrontation at a party in Chula Vista, police said.

Steven Lommerse said he witnessed the shootings and was giving first aid to his friend, Stephen Richards, when the Coronado officer, Keith James, ordered him to stop at gunpoint.

“I said, ‘I know what I’m doing.’ He said, ‘Get away or I’ll shoot you,’ ” Lommerse said.

Another witness to the shooting, Lisabeth Brooks, girlfriend of the surviving brother, said James “wouldn’t let us go near them.”

But Coronado Police Chief Jack Drown said there would be no Internal Affairs investigation because James was acting properly.

Robert J. Scott, 28, was arrested Tuesday for investigation of murder in Stephen Richards’ death, but a Superior Court judge ordered his release later in the day when no charges were filed.