Modesto PD Kill 45-Year-Old Mentally Ill Richie Robles

Police shoot man wielding samurai sword

A short local/corporate media repor: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6faOifFT3c

Modesto police won't say why swordsman was shot

Details about a violent predawn confrontation Sunday between a troubled man with a red-handled samurai sword and the Modesto policewoman who killed him began emerging Monday, though authorities would not reveal what they've learned about why or how it happened.

Modesto police identified the dead man as Richard Phillip Robles Jr. of Modesto. Family members said Robles, who celebrated his 45th birthday two days before his death, recently was afraid someone was out to get him.

Swordsman killed by Modesto cop was mentally ill, mother says

Family members of Richard Phillip Robles Jr. say they remember him as a loving son and jokester who was handy around the house. Polly Robles said Monday that her son struggled with mental illness, but was not violent. Recently, however, he seemed paranoid and told his mother, "They're after me. I'm not going to let them get me." She said she has no idea why Robles apparently confronted a Modesto police officer with a samurai sword early Sunday. She said she thought Robles had gotten the sword from a family friend about three days ago.

Robles said she last saw her son, "Richie," on Saturday about 8 a.m., when he stopped by his parents' Modesto house to pick up mail and asked to borrow money. He said he planned to spend Saturday night at his ex-wife's house, but never showed up there. Sunday afternoon, a police officer appeared on the Robleses' doorstep to say that their son was dead. The family was shocked. "He had his ups and downs, but we didn't expect that at all," his sister, Belen Robinson, said. Robles, who turned 45 on Friday, was the father of a 17-year-old son and a beloved uncle to many nieces and nephews, family members said.

Witness to Modesto police shooting of 'samurai' describes scene

Two gunshots, muzzle flashes, then the silhouette melted to the ground. A witness to Sunday morning's shooting of a man with a sword by a Modesto police officer revisited the area Tuesday afternoon to describe what he saw. Wayne Harvey, 31, of Modesto was working maintenance downtown early Sunday when three gunshots startled him enough to make him jump "half a foot" off the ground. "I jumped," he said. "I told my friend, 'Those are gunshots.' " Read More:http://www.modbee.com/breakingnews/story/563051.html