A mother taken hostage during a bank robbery and used as a human shield during a shootout was killed when hit 10 times by police gunfire
On July 16, Alex Gregory Martinez, 27, Gilbert Renteria Jr., 30, and Jaime Ramos, 19, took three women – two bank employees and a customer - hostages during the robbery of a Bank of the West branch in Stockton, California. During a police pursuit, two of the women hostages either jumped or were pushed out of the SUV that was taken from one of the escaping hostages by the three slimeballs in their attempt to get away.
Misty Holt-Singh, 41, a mother of two, did not escape. Her 12-year-old daughter had been waiting in Misty’s car while her mother was inside the bank where she was taken hostage at gunpoint.
The robbers, armed with an AK-47 and three handguns, fired at the pursuing cops during the 51-mile chase which lasted about one hour. When the chase ended, there was a gun battle between the crooks and 33 cops during which the crooks fired 200 rounds and the cops 600 rounds. When it was over, Misty, Martinez and Renteria were dead. Ramos, who used Misty as a human shield, was captured unhurt. The police are looking for a fourth suspect who drove Martinez, Renteria and Ramos to the bank.
On Monday, Stockton’s police chief announced that an autopsy showed Misty had been hit 10 times by police gunfire. He said the whole police department was saddened by her death.
To me it looks as though the cops had little choice but to return the hail of bullets they were being subjected to. This incident does not appear to be one in which a hostage negotiator could have been used. Nevertheless, Greg Bentley, an attorney for the Singh family, is preparing for a lawsuit against the cops. He is seeking a record of the 9-1-1 calls, photographs, video and any other evidence related to the incident, as well as the police protocols for responding to such a situation.
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