MAMMOTH PAYS OUT TO URIBE FAMILY
The Town of Mammoth Lakes has agreed to a $5 million settlement in the wrongful death lawsuit filed by the children of Jesus Corona Uribe, who was fatally shot by two Mammoth Lakes Police Department officers in March of 2025.
Of the $5 million settlement, $2,874,093.04 was divided equally between Uribe’s two children, Esteban and Maurizio, with $1,437,046.52 allocated to each. Those amounts were paid to Mutual of Omaha Structured Settlement Company to fund the children’s future payments, according to the agreement. The remaining $2,125,906.96 went to Qureshi Law, the law firm representing Uribe’s family.
The settlement does not constitute an admission of wrongdoing. The Town and the four officers named as defendants (Sgt. Joe Vetter, Officer Dennis Saulque, Officer Chris Hoodman, and Detective Brian Madera) deny any liability, fault, wrongdoing, negligence, or responsibility for Uribe’s death.
Rather than receiving the money as a single payment, the children will receive it through structured settlements that include future lump-sum payments and monthly payments for life, according to Qualified Assignment and Release Agreements filed with the settlement.
Esteban Uribe, the eldest child, is scheduled to receive $75,000 in 2031, $250,000 in 2038, and $500,000 in 2043. Beginning in 2048, he is scheduled to receive $17,168.72 per month for life, with the payments guaranteed for at least 20 years.
Maurizio Uribe is scheduled to receive the same three lump-sum payments in 2034, 2041, and 2046. Beginning in 2051, he is scheduled to receive $20,577.65 per month for life, also with payments guaranteed for at least 20 years.
Because Maurizio and Esteban are minors, the settlement agreement, dated July 7, 2026, required a judge to review it to ensure the terms were fair to the children. Because of this, the case was not formally dismissed with prejudice until Sept. 1, nearly two months after the Release was signed, according to court records.
Esteban and Maurizio were 11 and 8 years old, respectively, when their father was killed, according to a March 27, 2025 press release from Qureshi Law. Their mother, Ashely Ramirez, served as guardian ad litem for both children.
Despite the size of the settlement, Town Manager Rob Patterson said the Town won’t pay any of it directly. Mammoth Lakes is one of roughly 125 public agencies that belong to the California Joint Powers Insurance Authority, which handles the Town’s liability coverage under its Primary Liability Program. There is no deductible under the program, though coverage limits vary depending on the type of incident, Patterson said.
The Town will instead bear the cost gradually through higher insurance premiums. Patterson said CJPIA caps premium increases tied to a claim at 25% per year, spread over five years. For Mammoth Lakes, that’s expected to add up to roughly $140,000 per year for five years, paid out of the General Fund starting in the 2027-28 fiscal year, he said.
Because CJPIA controls claims like this one from start to finish, including hiring legal counsel, setting strategy, and negotiating the settlement, Town Council approval was not required, Patterson said.
The case stems from the March 4, 2025 shooting, which unfolded in less than two minutes. A 911 call came in at 11:40 a.m. reporting a man throwing rocks at passing vehicles near the Mammoth Lakes Branch Library. Officers arrived within a minute.
Bodycam footage later released by MLPD, captured by Sgt. Vetter and Officer Hoodman, shows the two officers confronting Uribe near a dumpster behind Giovanni’s restaurant. Uribe held rocks in each hand and ran when officers told him to drop them, heading toward the library on a nearby bike path.
There, he encountered Detective Madera and Officer Saulque, who had been attending a school safety meeting nearby and were not wearing bodycams.
According to the department’s account, Uribe turned toward the two officers, closed to within about 15 feet, and raised his arm as if to throw a rock before Madera and Saulque opened fire. Uribe was shot multiple times and was pronounced dead at Mammoth Hospital.
The shooting triggered a mandatory investigation by the California Department of Justice under state law, and that investigation was still open as of Sept. 9.
Both Madera and Saulque were placed on administrative leave following the shooting, though they were later reinstated at MLPD.
In February 2026, Saulque left Mammoth Lakes for a lateral transfer to the Bishop Police Department.
Bishop Police Chief Nate Derr announced the hire at a City Council meeting, calling Saulque “a good officer, proven” with 16 years of law enforcement experience, and said he was willing to accept the political risk that came with it.
Madera and Hoodman remain active employees at MLPD, according to the department’s directory. Vetter retired from the department this summer.
