Roseville, Calif. – On April 20, 2008, at 11:45 p.m., two detectives assigned to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department’s Major Crimes Bureau had tracked a 39-year-old male suspect, with an active warrant for parole violation and an extensive criminal history, to a motel in the 200 block of Harding Boulevard in Roseville, California. As the detectives were driving through the parking lot of the motel, the suspect saw them and fled on foot.
ne of the detectives got out of the vehicle and gave chase. As the detective was chasing the suspect, the suspect turned toward the detective and reached into his waistband. The detective, believing his life was in imminent danger drew his department issued semi-automatic handgun and fired once at the suspect. The suspect was struck in the upper body. The detective immediately requested paramedics who arrived a short time later and pronounced the suspect dead at the scene.
In accordance with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department’s policies and procedures, the 41-year-old detective involved in this incident, a 9-year veteran, will be placed on paid administrative leave. The circumstances surrounding this incident will be investigated by the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Unit, the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department’s Internal Affairs Unit, the Roseville Police Department and the Placer County District Attorney’s Office.