Kenwood Stand-Off
On Tuesday, April 1, 2014, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office received a request from members of the Napa County Major Crimes Task Force to assist them in the service of a felony arrest warrant. The subject listed in the warrant was wanted in connection with felony firearm, narcotic, and child endangerment charges and was believed to be armed. The warrant subject was believed to be staying in a trailer at a residence in the 200 block of Hoff Road in the Sonoma Valley. A search warrant was obtained for the property.
At approximately 11:50pm, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office’s Special Operations Unit attempted to serve the warrant. Upon arrival, an adult male, later determined to be the owner, immediately exited the trailer and surrendered. He confirmed the wanted subject was inside the trailer with a female, whom was believed to be hostage. The owner confirmed the suspect was armed with a rifle, handgun, and had body armor.
Over the course of the night, members of the Sheriff’s Hostage Negotiation Team attempted to convince the suspect to release the female hostage and surrender. At approximately 8:30am on April 2, 2014, the female hostage was released. She also confirmed the suspect was armed with a rifle.
Due to the lengthy standoff, the Santa Rosa Police Department’s SWAT team replaced the Sheriff’s Special Operations Unit at approximately 10:00am, where negotiations continued throughout the morning and afternoon.
During these negotiations, the suspected confessed to several violent felonies, including a murder. Law enforcement immediately attempted to verify these crimes and what, if any, involvement the suspect may have in the commission of these crimes.
After he confessed to these crimes, the tone and tenor of the negotiations appeared to change. Eventually, the suspect become less communicative. The suspect threated to kill himself on numerous occasions or create a situation where he would force law enforcement to kill him, in what is known as “Suicide by cop.”
At approximately 5:00pm, the Sheriff’s Special Operations Unit resumed control of the scene.
In an attempt to re-engage the suspect in productive negotiations, the Sheriff’s SWAT team put chemical agents into the trailer. The suspect responded by shooting indiscriminately out of the trailer at SWAT personnel on-scene striking a residence. Fortunately, no members of the public or law enforcement personnel were injured.
Additional chemical agents were shot into the trailer. At that time, the front door opened on the trailer and the suspect appeared. Perceiving a threat and fearing for their safety, SWAT team members engaged the suspect with their weapons. The suspect fell to the ground and, after numerous attempts to communicate with the suspect, the SWAT team approached the suspect with a tactical medic. The suspect was determined to be deceased.
At this time, it is unknown if the suspect died as a result of a self-inflicted wound or as a result of his engagement with SWAT personnel.
In accordance with the Sonoma County Law Enforcement Chiefs’ Association’s Fatal Incident Protocol, the investigation will be conducted by the Petaluma Police Department with assistance from the Santa Rosa Police Department and Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office.
Any additional press inquiries should be directed to the Petaluma Police Department.
Prepared by Lt. Bret Sackett, Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office
Reference: CR# 140402-008, 140402-015
Address/Location
Sonoma County Sheriff's Office
2796 Ventura Ave
Santa Rosa, CA 95403
Contact
Emergency: 9-1-1
Non-emergencies: 707-565-2650