Criminal charges won’t be filed against a Manteca city councilmember who shot his stepson last month during an altercation, the city’s police department said.
The San Joaquin County district attorney’s office decided against filing a case against Councilmember David Breitenbucher. Instead, his stepson — Landon White — will be charged with assault with intent to create great bodily harm, police said in a statement released on social media.
The decision follows what police termed “a thorough joint investigation” by its officers and the district attorney’s Bureau of Investigations.
Although the police statement did not offer any reasons about the charging decision, Breitenbucher had contended at the time of the Jan. 23 incident that he was acting in self-defense when he shot White, 31, with his personal gun. Both men were injured in the altercation in the 1000 block of Yolo Street; White was shot in the abdomen, and Breitenbucher suffered a head wound, authorities said.
Police arrived on the scene after the councilmember called 911 at 12:28 p.m. the day of the shooting.
Breitenbucher is a retired city fire captain who has served in Manteca’s District 3 seat for six years.