Parole agent details moment he shot Santa Rosa man in 2022

A parole agent who was confronted by a box cutter-wielding parolee at a Santa Rosa home last year told a judge Tuesday he initially tried to subdue the man by grabbing his arm and dousing him with pepper spray.

But when that didn’t work, an emotional Roger Braddock testified, he shot the parolee three times.

“At that time, I wanted him to just drop the blade,” Braddock said. “I was hoping he would.”

He was among a number of witnesses who recounted the events of May 25, 2022 during the first day of Charles Wyatt’s preliminary hearing before Judge Mark Urioste in Sonoma County Superior Court in Santa Rosa.

A second day of testimony is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.

The 50-year-old Wyatt is charged with attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon on a law enforcement officer after allegedly lunging at Braddock with a box cutter during a welfare check.

The ongoing preliminary hearing, which is expected to wrap-up on Wednesday, will determine whether there’s enough evidence to send Wyatt to trial. If convicted as charged, he could be sentenced to at least 25 years to life in prison.

Wyatt’s defense attorney, Walter Rubenstein, spent Tuesday questioning witnesses about their recollection of events before and after the shooting.

On his way out of court Tuesday afternoon, he would only say there are a lot of “inconsistencies” in the investigation.

According to a state Department of Corrections news release issued last year, Wyatt’s history of arrests in Sonoma County date back to 1995 and involved spousal abuse and drug possession. His most recent sentence before the shooting involved an Aug. 2020 conviction for false imprisonment.

He was released on parole in Nov. 2021.

This past April, officials said, Wyatt appeared to be having a mental health crisis on the day of the shooting. During a phone call, he claimed to be “a general in the Secret Service” and tried to order his parole agent to “stand down.“

Braddock wiped away tears on several occasions as he testified Tuesday.

He told the judge he was among three parole agents checking on Wyatt at his home on Lahinch Lane in Santa Rosa’s Fountaingrove neighborhood.

Braddock and the other two agents, were previously identified Jeff Gill and Michael Sweeney stood by the garage door as he knocked on the front door, hoping Wyatt would be more cooperative if he only saw one of them.

Gill testified Braddock had been Wyatt’s previous parole officer and “had very good rapport with him.”

Braddock and Wyatt were near the entrance when Wyatt made a movement that indicated he’d seen the other agents, Braddock said, adding that he tried to grab Wyatt’s arm, but Wyatt backed away and pulled the box cutter from his pocket.

According to Braddock, Wyatt ignored multiple requests to drop the box cutter.

“He was saying ‘It’s Okay, I’m a special agent,’” Braddock testified, adding that Wyatt tried to use a California identification as proof of his government position..

Braddock said he tried to negotiate with Wyatt and acknowledged him as a special agent before using the pepper spray.

“He said, ‘Oh no!’ covered his face, turned away and ran down the hall,” Braddock said.

The agent said he followed Wyatt down the hallway and found him around a corner crouched down with the box cutter in his hand.

“He ran toward me,” Braddock testified. “It was a fast lunge forward.”

At one point, Gill testified, Wyatt swung the box cutter in an upward direction and came within 2 or 3 feet of hitting Braddock.

Officials said Braddock shot Wyatt three times, hitting him once in the chest, abdomen and thigh. Both men then fell to the ground.

Wyatt was treated for his injuries at a local hospital and the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office filed charges against him on July 8.

The District Attorney’s Office investigated the matter and cleared the agents of wrongdoing.

On Monday, the defense filed a motion contending the parole agents provided different versions of events during the initial investigations.

The filing argues that only Gill, and not Braddock, said Wyatt pointed the box cutter at the time of the shooting. It adds that a box cutter is a tool and not a deadly weapon.

Furthermore, the defense argues a fourth round was fired but none of the agents took responsibility for firing the bullet.

"Given the physical evidence and conflicting statements by the three parole officers, there appears to be a cover up as to the true nature of the events,“ Rubenstein wrote in the motion.

You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at [email protected]. On Twitter @colin_atagi