Elisa Ortega, the suspect's sister, says she still can't comprehend all of this. "Why did this happen," she asks. "It's not in his nature to do this. Why did he do this? What provoked it?"
Ortega is trying to make sense of what happened to her little brother. She says he was finally getting a handle on his depression, a depression that would cause him to stay in his room for hours on end and avoid contact with friends and family members.
Elisa Ortega says her brother began taking two types of pills in January. He was taking Lexipro, a medication for depression and Geodon, which is a drug that, according to "WebMd" is used to treat certain mental and mood disorders like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. But Fresno's Chief of Police, Jerry Dyer says it's clear from witness accounts at the scene Jesse Carrizales was mentally unstable. The Chief says his investigators strongly suspect that this was a case of suicide by cop. He says that this suspect wanted Officer Junus Perry to take his life. Police had had contact with Jesse Carrizales two times before. Once at Sequoia middle school three years ago Jesse reportedly brought a butcher knife to school. The second time was at the family's home this past August. Police wont' say why they were called to the home, but family members say Jesse was depressed.
As Elisa Ortega and her family make funeral arrangements, they are trying to remember their baby brother for who he was and not what he did that ended his life. She says, "I'm sorry for what he did to that officer, we all are, just don't make him out to be a bad person cuz he's not."
