San Andreas Police Release Video Of Hostage Situation Turned Deadly

Three people were shot, including a deputy and a 77-year-old female hostage, in a domestic violence situation that escalated in San Andreas earlier this month, the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Department reported.

The suspect was shot and killed.

According to a press release issued Friday morning, the incident began with a 911 call at 10:39 p.m. regarding a man and woman arguing at the Sierra Inn Motel. The caller told dispatchers the man pointed a gun at the woman’s head.

When deputies arrived, the suspect had left. They began a search for him. As the deputy was interviewing the alleged victim near the Diamond Place apartment complex in the 500 block of Lewis Avenue, the suspect ambushed them, the release said.

The suspect shot the deputy in the upper body. The injured deputy managed to get the victim of the domestic violence to safety as more deputies, along with officers from the California Highway Patrol and the Angels Camp Police Department, responded to the scene.

“While searching, the suspect emerged from an apartment holding what appears at this point to be an uninvolved elderly female hostage with a firearm,” the release said.

Calaveras Sheriff’s Sgt. Greg Stark said the suspect forced himself into the apartment of a 77-year-old woman. Stark said the woman, who uses a walker, had no relationship with the suspect and was an innocent bystander.

Deputies tried to talk the suspect into releasing the hostage, but the suspect “refused commands and posed an immediate threat to the victim,” the release said. “Shots were fired and the suspect was struck. The hostage was also struck by gunfire.”

Deputies administered first aid to the suspect and hostage until medical personnel arrived. The suspect was declared dead at the scene.