Man killed in alleged robbery attempt was wanted after missing court date

At the time he was shot and killed during an alleged robbery attempt in Rosemont on Sunday, Derick Hunter was a gangster and a parolee facing fresh robbery charges that should have had him in court as recently as Friday, Sacramento Superior Court records show.

He missed his scheduled preliminary hearing for that day, according to the District Attorney's Office, and a $500,000 warrant was issued for his arrest.

Authorities next came into contact with the 30-year-old Hunter about 3 p.m. Sunday, after an employee at a Metro PCS store on Folsom Boulevard fatally shot him during what detectives described as an armed robbery attempt.

The employee, who has not been identified, immediately called 911, placed the gun he used on the counter and waited for authorities outside.

Sacramento County Sheriff's Sgt. Jason Ramos said the employee appears to have been justified in shooting Hunter, though the District Attorney's Office will make the determination on whether charges are filed.

Ramos also said the employee was in lawful possession of the gun he used, and that he was cooperative with investigators. He was not arrested.

Hunter was pronounced dead at the scene.

On Friday, Hunter was scheduled to appear in court on charges that he robbed four people last fall, according to Superior Court records available online and the district attorney's criminal complaint against him.

The case also included charges of making criminal threats, false imprisonment, being a felon in possession of a firearm and resisting arrest.

The crimes allegedly occurred in October – three months after Hunter was paroled from prison, according to Superior Court records and state prison officials. He served almost three years of a six-year sentence for felony possession of a firearm by a felon, reckless driving while evading police and participating in a criminal street gang.

The criminal complaint in that 2007 case indicated Hunter and his co-defendant were members of the East Side Piru Bloods street gang.

Hunter's criminal history in Sacramento County dates back to 2001, when he was charged with felony drug possession and sent to a drug diversion program.

Upon his completion of the program, the case was dismissed, court records show.

Later that year, Hunter pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of car theft. He was sentenced to three months of Sheriff's Work Project and three years of probation.

Then, in 2002, Hunter pleaded no contest to felony burglary, landing him a five-year prison sentence. It was not clear Tuesday how much of that sentence he served before he was released.

• Read more articles by Kim Minugh

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