Fairfax County: Autopsy Report Yet to Come for Deputy-Involved Shooting

Administrative investigation to follow.

By Tim Peterson

Law enforcement officials are still waiting to receive the final autopsy report for Yovani Amaya Gomez, 29, who was shot dead by Fairfax County Sheriff’s Deputy MDS Patrick McPartlin outside Inova Fairfax Hospital on Aug. 15 of this year.

Police had previously reported Gomez’s name as Jovany Martinez, but released an update on Nov. 1 that Homicide detectives confirmed his true legal name with help from the Honduran embassy and family members in Honduras.

Gomez first approached a Fairfax County Police cruiser and officer during the day on Aug. 15 in Annandale. The officer suspected he was having either a mental health episode or a heat-induced medical emergency, and called in Fairfax County Fire & Rescue and a team of medics.

Gomez was taken to Inova Fairfax to be further evaluated. The transport investigation finished around 4 p.m.; medical staff said he wasn’t in mental distress.

That evening, Gomez was discharged from the hospital and escorted to the bus stop by Inova security. An Inova spokesperson would not say why he had an escort or elaborate on any condition he may have had.

After he was left at the stop, security received reports of a man at the bus stop threatening people with an apparent weapon. When security responded to the scene, Gomez attacked a guard with a metal sign post, police reported.

Sheriff’s Deputy MDS Patrick McPartlin responded to a backup call from the guards and attempted to de-escalate the situation. But officials said Gomez ran at McPartlin and swung the sign post in an attempt to strike him.

Gomez allegedly didn’t respond to repeated attempts to stop advancing on the deputy, so McPartlin shot him several times while tactically retreating.

McPartlin was carrying neither a taser nor a beanbag gun, which are less-lethal options for deputies outside the Adult Detention Center but not mandatory for the Sheriff’s Office. He was put on administrative leave after the shooting.

Police report their criminal investigation is complete. Once they receive the autopsy report, the case file will go to the Commonwealth’s attorney for a decision on whether there was any criminal liability in the shooting.

FCPD spokesman MPO Don Gotthardt said there were no additional details of the criminal investigation to be released, and that there’s no expected timeline for receiving the medical examiner’s report.

Now that the criminal investigation is complete, the Sheriff’s Office will conduct its own administrative investigation of the shooting.