A Howard County police officer who fatally shot a man wielding a knife outside an Ellicott City bar in January "acted legally at all times," State's Attorney Marna L. McLendon said yesterday.

In a letter to Police Chief Wayne Livesay, McLendon said Sgt. A. J. Bellido de Luna was justified in shooting John Sierra, 39, of Ellicott City once in the chest after a scuffle outside G. L. Shacks Grill.

Police and witnesses said Sierra, who was carrying a suicide note, initially complied when ordered to drop his weapon. But he picked it up again and started moving toward Bellido de Luna, who fired when Sierra was about 10 feet away.

"It was clear that there was a present danger to the officer's life," McLendon said in an interview. "It was reasonable for him to use deadly force."

The state's attorney's office launched its investigation several weeks after Sierra's death to determine whether Bellido de Luna should face criminal charges in connection with the shooting.

McLendon said her assistants reviewed photographs, the autopsy report, the 911 recording and the Police Department's internal investigation. They also interviewed witnesses and visited the scene of the shooting.

Police had earlier cleared Bellido de Luna, a 10-year veteran of the department who heads the traffic section, of any wrongdoing. He was placed on administrative leave after the Jan. 19 shooting but returned shortly thereafter to his regular duties.

"We were confident that Sgt. Bellido de Luna acted appropriately," Sgt. Morris Carroll, a police spokesman, said yesterday. "The circumstances were very tragic, and it was unfortunate that someone had to die as a result of the incident."

Pub Date: 3/31/99