Jogger wakes up sleeping man on sidewalk and shoots him dead, California officials say

A 68-year-old man woke up a homeless man and shot him dead earlier this year, California officials said. Now, he has been charged.

Craig Sumner Elliott was pushing a pushcart while out for a jog with his two dogs when he saw Antonio Garcia Avalos, 40, sleeping on a sidewalk in Garden Grove on Sept. 28, according to a Nov. 20 news release from the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.

Elliott is accused of videotaping the interaction and “using his pushcart to nudge Avalos” awake, the release said.

Once Avalos was awake, he started screaming “at Elliott to get away from him,” officials said.

Elliott, who had a concealed carry permit, then pulled a handgun out of his pushcart, officials said.

The video shows Avalos trying to throw a shoe at Elliott before he was shot three times, officials said.

Avalos later died and Elliott was arrested on Nov. 17 by officers with the Garden Grove Police Department, officials said.

Elliott was charged with felony voluntary manslaughter and felony enhancement of personal use of a firearm, according to the release.

“This is a tragic set of circumstances that unfolded in the worst possible way over a minor inconvenience of a blocked sidewalk, and a man is dead as a result,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in the release. “This case is a stark reminder that taking the law into your own hands is never the answer and that there are consequences for your actions.”

Elliott was released from custody after paying the $100,000 bail and is scheduled to be in court on Dec. 15, officials said.

McClatchy News reached out to the Garden Grove Police Department and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office for more information on Nov. 21 and is awaiting a response.

If convicted of all charges, Elliott faces up to 21 years in prison, officials said.

Garden Grove is 30 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

This story was originally published November 21, 2023 at 9:27 AM with the headline "Jogger wakes up sleeping man on sidewalk and shoots him dead, California officials say."