Shooting involving deputy in Corona leaves woman dead, man charged with murder

A woman died and a man is facing a murder charge after a struggle between him and a deputy in Corona led to shots being fired, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department said Thursday.

California's Department of Justice is investigating the shooting in compliance with AB 1506, the law requiring the state's justice department to investigate officer-involved shootings of unarmed civilians. 

The deputy involved has been placed on paid administrative leave, sheriff's officials said.

Eric Nourani, 33, is accused of lunging at the deputy while the officer was running after some other people in the 1000 block of West 6th Street just after 1 a.m. Tuesday, sheriff's officials said. Nourani, a resident of San Diego County, allegedly got into a fight with the deputy after confronting the officer as he turned the corner of a building.

During a struggle between the two men, Jennifer Dobbins allegedly started assaulting the deputy and shots were fired, according to the sheriff's department. 

The 30-year-old Imperial Beach woman was struck by the gunfire. 

Meanwhile, the deputy continued trying to fight off Nourani, who was allegedly trying to take his gun at that point, officials said. Some bystanders intervened and helped the deputy detain Nourani.

Dobbins was rendered medical aid before paramedics arrived and drove her to Riverside Community Hospital, where she was pronounced dead an hour and 28 minutes after being injured, according to the sheriff's department.

The deputy suffered injuries which sheriff officials described as moderate while Nourani sustained minor injuries.

In a news release, the sheriff's department did not state whether the deputy or Nourani fired the gun. However, the statement never says that Nourani was armed with a gun. 

He was booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center. Two days later, the Riverside County District Attorney's Office filed criminal charges against him.

Nourani faces a possible maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted of all charges, which include murder, first-degree attempted murder and mayhem.

The state's justice department is handling all questions about the shooting since it has taken over the investigation.

Alexandra Duquet, a spokeswoman for California's Department of Justice, would not state whether the shot that killed Dobbins was fired by the deputy or Nourani. Under AB 1506, she said, the state only investigates shootings involving a deputy's gun.

Duquet declined to give any more details beyond a brief DOJ statement which gives the time and location of the shooting and the fact that it was fatal.

When asked whether the deputy or Nourani shot the bullet that killed Dobbins, the DA's office declined to comment further.

No other details have been released by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department or DA's office.