San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies involved in a 2022 shootout along a California freeway that killed a teenage girl and her fugitive father will not face any criminal charges, state Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Friday.
Bonta released a report compiled by the California Department of Justice following an investigation that included interviews with officers, witnesses who were driving along the road that day and family members who recalled that the man and his daughter had a close relationship. The attorney general called the incident a tragic situation with a tragic outcome.
“This report was quite difficult to publish, and I sincerely hope it provides the community with the answers they’ve been waiting for," Bonta said in a statement. "The California Department of Justice aims to partner with law enforcement to build a just and equitable legal environment, ensuring that the rule of law is upheld, and justice is accessible to everyone.”
Video and audio released by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department showed Savannah Graziano, 15, was shot and killed as she approached deputies amid a hail of gunfire on Sept. 27, 2022. The video footage recorded by a sheriff’s helicopter and witness dashboard cameras was released in 2024 in response to public records requests made by The Associated Press and other media outlets.
According to the Department of Justice review, 45-year-old Anthony Graziano drove off with his daughter after he shot and killed Tracy Martinez — his 45-year-old estranged wife — as she tried to flee from his pickup truck. Authorities said the teen was in the truck when her mother was shot, and an Amber Alert was issued.
San Bernardino County deputies spotted the truck the next day, and a 41-mile (66-kilometer) pursuit ensued on Interstate 15. As Anthony Graziano was driving, authorities said numerous rounds were fired at deputies from the rear and passenger-side windows of the vehicle. Audio from the deputies' belt recorders included the sounds of rounds hitting their patrol vehicles. One deputy sustained gunshot wounds to his arm and to fingers on both of his hands.
Authorities said shots continued to be fired from Graziano's truck after he drove off the freeway and up an embankment. About 65 spent casings and four firearms were found in the truck. The investigation also determined that 21 deputies returned fire.
The report states that the vehicle came to a stop and the teen — wearing a tactical helmet and vest — got out of the front passenger door and initially crouched on the ground. She then got up and moved toward a deputy as he called out to her. She raised her right hand, and that is when other deputies opened fire, according to the report.
Anthony Graziano was found dead in the driver's seat. Autopsy results showed he died from a gunshot wound to the head and also suffered gunshot wounds to his shoulder, lower back and leg. A toxicology report showed he had methamphetamine and amphetamine as well as morphine and hydrocodone in his blood and urine.
No drugs or alcohol were found in Savannah Graziano’s blood or urine. Her cause of death was listed as gunshot wounds.
Gunshot residue was present in samples taken from the hands of both the teen and her father. The report notes that gunshot residue particles can be deposited by firing a firearm, being in proximity of a discharging firearm, or by handling a firearm or ammunition.
The report states “no conclusion" can be drawn from the residue testing as to whether the teen or her father fired a firearm. But in attempting to recreate multiple shooting positions from inside the truck given the location of powder burns left by the muzzle of a rifle found in the vehicle, investigators found that the driver would not have been able to shoot the rifle and still maintain control of the gas and brake pedals.
Prosecutors noted in the report that evidence suggested that deputies believed both Graziano and his daughter — who was experienced at handling firearms and had participated in firearms training drills with her father — posed an imminent threat and that the need to use lethal force was reasonable.
Family members told authorities that Graziano had been living in his truck and that his daughter would often stay with him, sleeping in the truck next to a park. They said the teen was upset about her parents' divorce.
The report also included recommendations related to training and dash-mounted and body-worn camera policies. The attorney general's office said the sheriff's department had implemented the training recommendations following the incident.
FILE - This undated photo provided by the City of Fontana, Calif., Police Department shows teenager Savannah Graziano. (Courtesy of City of Fontana Police Department via AP, File)
FILE - This undated photo provided by the City of Fontana, Calif., Police Department shows Anthony John Graziano. (Courtesy of City of Fontana Police Department via AP, File)
The tip of Michigan's mitten struggled through another day without electricity Tuesday as restless residents tried to stay warm while utilities scrambled to restore power in a region waylaid by weekend freezing rain that brought down countless trees and poles.
Schools in several counties were closed again at the top of the Lower Peninsula. Sheriff's deputies armed with chain saws cleared roads and were even delivering oxygen for the homebound. Drivers idled their vehicles in gas station lines that were blocks long.
Northern Michigan lives with crazy weather — Gaylord got 199 inches (5 meters) of snow this winter — but this wave is much different.
“It's an ice situation. The trees and power lines are loaded, literally,” Charlevoix County Sheriff Chuck Vondra said. "Everything is caving in."
More than 170,000 power outages were reported statewide Tuesday night in Michigan, according to poweroutage.us, down from 300,000-plus earlier in the week. But in some areas, entire communities have been without electricity since Saturday.
The Cheboygan County sheriff said residents should consider leaving town if they have another place to stay. Running on generators, Petoskey City Hall and part of Odawa Casino were turned into 24-hour havens for people to warm up and charge phones. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she was sending the Michigan National Guard to help with restoration efforts.
“The challenge is the debris, impassable roads, and hundreds of downed poles. Each pole takes hours to replace,” said Presque Isle Electric & Gas Co-op, one of many utilities in the region
Petra Tank, 32, of Petoskey said she finally decided to drive 25 miles (40 kilometers) to a friend's home for warmth and a shower Monday.
“I realized, ‘Oh, this is a big deal. We’re not going to be back at work this week,’” said Tank, who has a tailor shop.
“We've been sitting ducks for three days without power, and the morale is officially starting to lower because our homes are only getting colder. … It's just kind of free-for-all,” she told The Associated Press.
The Alpena News in Alpena couldn't publish a newspaper Monday or Tuesday, but it planned to finally have a print edition Wednesday. Managing Editor Torianna Marasco said she posted stories online by traveling outside the area for internet access.
The Mackinac Bridge, a 5-mile (8-kilometer) span connecting Michigan’s two peninsulas, has been closed at times because of thick ice falling from towers and cables.
A relief agency, Convoy of Hope, was loading trucks with food and water for a trip to northern Michigan, said Mike Way, pastor of Center Point Assembly church in Charlevoix.
“Everybody right now is on pins and needles. It's my understanding that more snow and ice are coming," Way said. ”We're not out of the woods yet."
The staff at Tom's Family Market in Onaway used flashlights to help desperate customers find food in a pinch.
“Don’t tell the governor," owner Bryan Madison told The Detroit News, "but we ain’t collecting tax.”
Associated Press writer Tammy Webber contributed to this report.
Piper Kuzel, 5, watches her father, Jesse Kuzel of Charlevoix, Mich., fill gas containers at the Ellsworth Farmers Exchange Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Ellsworth, Mich., as his family has been using heat from their home's natural gas stove to keep warm with power outages widespread following the ice storm. (Jan-Michael Stump/Traverse City Record-Eagle via AP)
Sgt. Mitch Wallin of the Emmet County Sheriff's Department walks past ice-coated trees as he and Sgt. Tyler Midyett, not pictured, clear branches from along Eppler Road in Petoskey, Mich, Tuesday, April 1, 2025, as cleanup from the weekend's ice storm continues. (Jan-Michael Stump/Traverse City Record-Eagle via AP)
A crew from 5H Irrigation and Maintenance clears downed limbs from yards in Petoskey, Mich., Tuesday, April 1, 2025, as clean up from the weekend's ice storms continues across northern lower Michigan. (Jan-Michael Stump/Traverse City Record-Eagle via AP)
An Antrim County Road Commission crew clears branches and trees hanging near Atwood Road from ice build up Tuesday, April 1, 2025, near Ellsworth, Mich., following weekend storms that deposited as much as one inch of ice over areas of northern lower Michigan. (Jan-Michael Stump/Traverse City Record-Eagle via AP)
Sgt. Tyler Midyett of the Emmet County Sheriff's Department works along with Sgt. Mitch Wallin, not pictured, to clear fallen trees from along Eppler Road in Petoskey, Mich., Tuesday, April 1, 2025, as cleanup from the weekend's ice storm continues. (Jan-Michael Stump/Traverse City Record-Eagle via AP)
Debris and ice-covered trees cover Curtisville Road that turns into Ausable Valley River Road in Oscoda County, Mich. on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (Kaytie Boomer /The Bay City Times via AP)
This aerial view shows ice-covered trees off of Eggleston Road and Curtisville Road in Oscoda County, Mich. on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (Kaytie Boomer /The Bay City Times via AP)
This aerial view shows ice-covered trees off of Eggleston Road and Curtisville Road in Oscoda County, Mich. on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (Kaytie Boomer /The Bay City Times via AP)
Debris and ice-covered trees cover Curtisville Road that turns into Ausable Valley River Road in Oscoda County, Mich. on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (Kaytie Boomer /The Bay City Times via AP)
