In October 2010, plaintiffs Angel Mendez and his then girlfriend, plaintiff Jennifer Garcia, who was 5 months pregnant, were both lying on a futon in a make shift wooden shack in the backyard of a private residence in Lancaster. Two Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputies, Christopher Conley and Jennifer Pederson, arrived at the scene to search for a parolee-at-large, whom they believed to be armed and dangerous. Conley opened the door or pulled back a blanket, but neither deputy stepped into the shed; announcements had been made at the front, main dwelling. Upon entry of the 7×7 shack, the sheriff’s deputies perceived the silhouette of a man pointing a BB gun at them. Conley yelled “Gun!” and the sheriff’s deputies fired. Mendez was shot 14 times, and Garcia was shot once. Mendez and Garcia sued Conley; Pederson; the deputies’ supervisor, Leroy Baca, Sheriff of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department; and the deputies’ employers, the county of Los Angeles and the County of Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. Mendez and Garcia alleged that defendants’ actions constituted unreasonable and excessive force, and unreasonable search, in violation of their Fourth Amendment Constitutional rights. They alleged that the defendants’ actions also constituted assault and battery, negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The court ruled in the defendants’ favor regarding the plaintiffs’ state claims of assault and battery, negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The Sheriff’s Department and Baca were ultimately let out of the case. Thus, the trial only continued with the plaintiffs’ claims against the county, Conley and Pederson for violations of Fourth Amendment rights based on unreasonable and excessive force, and unreasonable search. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that the deputies had no search warrant and that they entered the shack with their guns drawn. Counsel argued that the main property was subject to a warrantless raid by the deputies, who also searched the surrounding property for a parolee, who was not found on the property. Thus, plaintiffs’ counsel argued that the gunshots were excessive. Defense counsel contended that the deputies had reason to search the shack, as they were searched the surrounding property for the parolee. Conley and Pederson testified that they did not think the shack was a habitable structure and that they believed that the only person who would have been in it would have been the at-large parolee trying to hide. The deputies further testified that when they entered the shack, they did not see Garcia, who was sleeping behind Mendez, between him and the back wall of the shed. Thus, they claimed that when they saw the silhouette of a man pointing a BB gun at them while looking for an at-large parolee who they thought might be hiding in the shed, they believed they had encountered the parolee holding a gun and acted accordingly., Mendez suffered 14 gunshot wounds. As a result, his right leg had to be surgically amputated below the knee. Mendez claimed that he now requires a prosthesis, which will need to be maintained and replaced over the years. He also claimed that he will require additional surgery, as well as continued psychological care as a result of the incident. Garcia suffered one gunshot wound to her back, but her unborn baby was uninjured during the encounter.