An off-duty deputy shot multiple times during an attempted robbery fired a "1 in a billion" shot that might have saved his life.
Deputy Jose Marquez was shot multiple times during the holdup at an apartment complex Jan. 26, according to the Aurora Sentinel.
Marquez was visiting his girlfriend when he went to grab something from his car. While he was walking back he saw two masked men. One of them pulled out a gun and told Marquez to "give it up."
The two men fired at Marquez who returned shots.
One of Marquez's bullets traveled down the barrel of Jahlil Meshesha's gun, disabling it in what police have called a "1 in a billion" shot.
"This collision rendered the .40-caliber pistol temporarily inoperable," according to a district attorney investigation.
Meshesha was wounded in the leg and later arrested, according to the Aurora Sentinel. The second suspect fled and has not been arrested or identified, according to KMGH-TV.
Marquez, a Jefferson County sheriff's deputy, was off duty and not in uniform, acted appropriately when he exchanged gunfire with the two masked men, according to a letter from Arapahoe County Deputy District Attorney Rich Orman, who cleared the officer in the shooting this week.
"Deputy Marquez reasonably believed that his life was in danger and acted reasonably in shooting Meshesha, and that he used an appropriate level of physical force," Orman wrote. "I further find that Deputy Marquez's actions were justified and he did not violate Colorado law."
The gunmen hit Marquez twice in the abdomen and once in the shoulder, according to KMGH-TV. Marquez suffered fractured ribs and damage to his intestines, colon and liver.
He has not returned to work because of his injuries.
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