A Banning man who is accused of fatally shooting a Beaumont man before he was shot and wounded by a Beaumont police officer on July 16 entered not guilty pleas to murder and other charges Friday morning in Riverside.
DeMario Anton Jackson, 25, a former developer with family and business ties in Banning, was identified by law enforcement as the alleged gunman in the fatal shooting of Andy Albarran, 46, early July 16 outside a Beaumont nightclub.
Jackson was booked on suspicion of murder on July 20.
"Mr. Jackson has maintained from the beginning that he did not shoot the victim, and he did not discharge a firearm," said Jackson's defense attorney, Susanne Cho.
About 1:50 a.m. July 16, a Beaumont police officer was checking reports of a fight in the 500 block of Beaumont Avenue when he saw Jackson shooting another man, later identified as Albarran, said city of Beaumont spokesperson Darci Mulvihill.
"The officer ordered Jackson to drop the weapon and after he refused, the officer shot him believing he was going to continue shooting," Mulvihill said in a statement.
Albarran was shot more than once and died later at a hospital, according to law enforcement accounts.
Jackson was shot by the police officer "multiple times" and has undergone multiple surgeries, Cho said.
Following standard protocol, the Beaumont police officer who shot Jackson was put on paid administrative leave, Mulvihill said.
Jackson was arrested and booked by sheriff's Central Homicide Unit investigators early July 20 at Riverside County Regional Medical Center in Moreno Valley, according to inmate records.
Both shootings were investigated by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department and Beaumont police.
Jackson's bail was listed Friday as $1 million.
Jackson's arraignment had been on the court calendar since late July. The proceeding was rescheduled until he was medically cleared for court.
Jackson entered not guilty pleas Friday in Department 42 and the next court date for his case is Sept. 2, a spokesman for the District Attorney's Office said.
