An Orange County sheriff’s deputy was charged with voluntary manslaughter and accused of fatally shooting her fiancée in their Tustin apartment in August after the deputy turned herself into authorities on Monday, March 9.
Aimee Alexis Hidalgo, 28, also was charged with felony enhancement of personal use of a firearm and was placed on administrative leave from her position with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department assigned to the Orange County Jail, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
“The badge is not a shield from prosecution; rather it is a symbol of the oath a sworn officer takes to uphold the law, on and off duty,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer in a news release. “When that oath is broken, the law applies equally to those with and without a badge and our duty to pursue justice for Brittany and all of those who loved her will be pursued in a court of law.”
Prosecutors said Ring footage showed Hidalgo’s fiancée, 35-year-old Brittany Shaw, left the apartment on Aug. 8 to walk her dog around 5:10 a.m. and returned 10 minutes later.
Moments after Shaw returned, prosecutors allege Hidalgo shot her nine times in the torso, right arm and the head. The coroner’s report found that the shot was made at “close intermediate range,” fired less than eight inches from Shaw’s head.
Hidalgo called 911 and gave Shaw CPR, but she died.
The Sheriff’s Department placed Hidalgo on paid administrative leave the day of the shooting. She was off duty at the time of the shooting, the Sheriff’s Department said.
Shaw also worked at the Orange County Jail in correctional health.