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SAN DIEGO A former sheriff’s deputy must stand trial on a murder charge in the shooting death of a man he saw escape from a state parks patrol car near the downtown San Diego jail last spring, a judge ruled Wednesday. Aaron Russell, 24, has pleaded not guilty in the death of Nicholas Bils, 36, who was shot as he sprinted north on Front Street at B Street on the evening of May 1. The incident was caught on a surveillance camera on Smart Streetlights near the intersection. Superior Court Judge Theodore Weathers’ decision to order Russell to face trial came at the end of a more than two-day preliminary hearing at the San Diego Central Courthouse. ....
Advertisement Russell is the first law enforcement officer in California to be charged with murder since the state raised the standard last year for when peace officers can use deadly force. The San Diego County district attorney’s office pointed to that law change in deciding to charge Russell. Prosecutors contend Russell committed second-degree murder. His defense attorney, Rick Pinckard, argued Wednesday that the use of force was justified. He said his client “perceived an imminent threat” from Bils, who was fleeing custody and running toward traffic stopped at the intersection. “Is it reasonable for a deputy in that same situation to see the imminent threat of a possible carjacking, robbery, kidnapping, whatever a violent act by a violent desperate escaping individual is that reasonable?” Pinckard said. “The defense would submit that yes, it is.” ....