Prosecutors published video and a detailed timeline while the investigation continues into the Jan. 18 shooting.
MARINA, CA — The Monterey County District Attorney’s Office on Sunday released body-worn and dash-camera footage from a Jan. 18 traffic stop in Marina that ended when officers opened fire, killing 31-year-old Ronald Chyron Tinsley II. The release also includes a minute-by-minute summary drawn from the videos, officer interviews on Jan. 21 and court records, officials said.
The disclosure marks the first public accounting of what investigators say unfolded in the Marina Heights neighborhood shortly before 5 p.m. The case remains under review by the district attorney’s office, which said it will not comment further until the inquiry is complete. Marina officials praised the outside review and said a separate department policy assessment would follow. The footage—provided to credentialed media—and narrative aim to inform a community that has packed city meetings seeking answers in the days since the shooting.
According to the district attorney’s timeline, Marina Police Officer Shivdev Dhillon began the traffic stop around 4:50 p.m. after spotting a van missing a front license plate and bearing expired registration. Dhillon recognized the driver as Tinsley, whom he had previously arrested in June 2025 in a felon-in-possession-of-ammunition case still moving through court. During the stop, Dhillon saw a name on Tinsley’s phone that he believed matched a protected party in a pending felony domestic violence case and asked to see the device. Tinsley refused and said he had been speaking with his mother. With concerns that Tinsley might be armed and based on what the officer viewed as atypical behavior, Dhillon ordered him out of the vehicle. When the officer reached inside to turn off the ignition, the van accelerated at 4:55:51 with Dhillon partially inside, the summary states.
The van traveled about 300 feet along Marina Heights Drive, past Bluffs Drive, before striking a small embankment in a dirt lot at 4:56:02. During the movement, investigators say Tinsley repeatedly struck Dhillon in the head while the two struggled over the steering wheel. As the van came to rest, Dhillon felt Tinsley lift a cloth-wrapped object from beside his right leg and the center console and believed it was a revolver. In the video, Dhillon can be heard yelling, “He has a gun!” and, “Don’t do it!” while a second officer, Brodie Seivers, runs toward the passenger side. From that window, Seivers later told investigators he saw a handgun in Tinsley’s hand, covered by Dhillon’s hand, and pointed in Seivers’ direction. At 4:56:21, Dhillon and Seivers each fired once, nearly simultaneously. Only one bullet struck Tinsley, who stopped moving, the district attorney’s office said.
Officials said roughly 30 seconds passed between the van’s acceleration and the gunfire, including about 19 seconds after the vehicle stopped. Six seconds elapsed between the first audible “gun” warning and the shots. Dhillon is recorded handing a revolver to Seivers at 4:56:42; investigators later determined the weapon was loaded and unregistered. An autopsy conducted Jan. 21 found a single bullet entered Tinsley’s posterior left shoulder and traveled through his aorta; crime-lab test-fires indicated the recovered round was .40 caliber. Dhillon fired one round from a .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol, and Seivers fired one round from a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol, investigators said. Medics arrived at 5:03:27, and Tinsley was pronounced dead before transport.
Authorities identified the other responding officer as Gabriel Rose, who followed when the van sped away. The district attorney’s office said officers had prior knowledge of Tinsley’s cases, including a December 2025 felony domestic violence filing that included a no-contact order and a firearms prohibition, and the earlier ammunition case. Investigators said a bindle of methamphetamine was found in Tinsley’s pants pocket; toxicology results are pending, and officials said it is unknown whether substance use affected his behavior. The office added that an informant had recently reported narcotics sales at two nearby houses, and that Dhillon knew Tinsley “was affiliated with, registered, or takes part with” a street gang. Records show Dhillon has seven years as a peace officer; Seivers has about two and a half.
The release of video and a detailed narrative follows days of community pressure. A special meeting at Marina City Council chambers earlier in the week drew friends and relatives of Tinsley, a Seaside resident and local rapper known to many in the area. Several speakers questioned the officers’ decisions and called for transparency about department policies. Marina Mayor Bruce Delgado told attendees the criminal review rests with county prosecutors and that the council would listen but could not answer case-specific questions. In a separate city statement, Police Chief Randy Hopkins said, “Public safety is our highest priority … officer-involved shooting incidents are serious and tragic, and therefore deserve high scrutiny and transparency,” adding that he welcomed the independent review.
Prosecutors said their inquiry remains active and will determine whether the use of deadly force violated criminal laws. The office said it began interviewing the three Marina officers on Jan. 21 and compiled the public timeline from those interviews, video and court documents. No charging decisions have been announced. The district attorney’s office said it will provide no further comment until the probe is complete. Any subsequent administrative review by Marina police will examine whether officers followed policy and training. Toxicology testing is underway, and additional forensic reports, including full ballistics and autopsy documentation, are expected in the coming weeks.
As the investigation continues, the body- and dash-camera footage cited in the summary has been made available to credentialed media in person at the district attorney’s office. The district attorney identified the officers who fired as Dhillon and Seivers. The office described the critical sequence as lasting less than a minute from acceleration to shots, with Seivers arriving at the passenger window as Dhillon struggled inside the van. “He has a gun,” Dhillon shouted on the recording, according to the release. “Don’t do it.”
As of Monday, the district attorney’s office had not set a date for additional public updates. The agency said it will release conclusions when the review is finished; Marina police said they will conduct their internal policy review after the county’s criminal determination. Autopsy and toxicology reports, along with any supplemental lab findings, are pending and expected to be logged into the case file as they are completed.
Author note: Last updated January 26, 2026.