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2 Sheriff's Deputies Fatally Shot in Sacramento, Placer Counties; Suspects Arrested

Two suspects have been booked into Sacramento County Jail following a series of shootings that left two sheriff's deputies dead, another wounded and a bystander in the hospital.

The shootings covered six crime scenes scattered across 30 miles.

Thirty-four-year-old Marcelo Marquez, who also goes by the name Luis Enrique Monroy-Bracamonte, was being held on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and carjacking.

A woman who was with him, 38-year-old Janelle Marquez Monroy, was held on suspicion of attempted murder and carjacking.

Both were booked into the jail early Saturday. They were being held without bail for initial court appearances Tuesday.

Neither immediately responded to emails sent to them through the jail requesting comment. No attorneys were listed for either suspect.

Marquez, of Salt Lake City, was taken alive Friday afternoon from a home in Auburn in Placer County after the initial shooting hours earlier in a strip mall in a commercial area of Sacramento, said Placer County Sheriff's spokeswoman Dena Erwin.

"This guy was on a one-man crime spree today. He has no idea of the damage he did," she said.

The four shootings sparked a massive manhunt by multiple agencies backed by search dogs, helicopters and armored vehicles. Residents nearby were told to stay indoors and schools were locked down during the search.

"I think there's those people who would say, `You know what, I wish you'd killed him,''' Placer County Sheriff Ed Bonner said at an evening news conference. "Now, that's not who we are. We are not him. We did our job.''

He identified his slain officer as sheriff's homicide Det. Michael Davis Jr. The 42-year-old detective died 26 years to the day after his father, for whom he is named, died in the line of duty as a Riverside County deputy sheriff in Southern California.

Flags at the state Capitol were ordered flown at half-staff and Gov. Jerry Brown issued a statement extending his sympathy to the families of the slain officers.

Their "brutal murders,'' Brown said, "...are a tragic reminder of the sacrifices we demand of our peace officers and the incredible courage they display as they protect our communities.''

The slaying of the deputies was the single deadliest day for California law enforcement since February 2013. In separate incidents that month, former Los Angeles police officer Christopher Dorner killed two law enforcement officers, and two Santa Cruz police detectives were shot and killed.

The woman who was with the suspect was also taken into custody in Placer County and authorities said she had a handgun in her purse.

Marquez had a driver's license that identified him as a Salt Lake City resident. He was taken to a hospital before he could be booked into jail, Erwin said.

Erwin said the officer who died was shot with an AR-15-type assault weapon, and the other officer was shot in the arm and was expected to survive.

Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones said at an afternoon news conference that Deputy Danny Oliver, 47, was killed after he approached a suspicious vehicle in a motel parking lot Friday morning and was shot in the forehead at close range. Oliver was a 15-year veteran who leaves behind a wife and two daughters.

Bonner later called the deadly sequence a "time of just sadness and madness'' as he described Davis as a 15-year veteran of the department and 18-year law enforcement officer. Davis, who would have been 43 on Wednesday, leaves behind a wife and four children.

Bonner said the wounded deputy, Jeff Davis, is a 17-year veteran who was shot in the arm. He was released after treatment at a hospital.

Bonner described the scene of the shootings as "incredibly chaotic'' and said it will take weeks to piece together the sequence of events that led to the shootings and suspect's arrest.

His deputies were shot after the driver of the vehicle and a female passenger fled the scene of the initial shooting in Sacramento. About a mile away, the suspect attempted to steal a car in a residential area, but shot the driver in the head when he refused to give up his keys, Jones said. He did not know the condition of that victim but said he was alive and conscious when he was transported.

The assailants then stole a red Ford pickup from Jose Cruz, who was gardening outside a client's house in Sacramento.

Cruz told The Sacramento Bee that a man in a white Ford Mustang convertible told him he needed a favor: "I need your keys,'' the man said. "Hurry up, because they're chasing me.''

Cruz said the man pointed a gun at him and had a bloody shirt wrapped around his other arm.

The suspects then fled to neighboring Placer County, about 30 miles north of Sacramento.

Erwin said a resident reported seeing a vehicle that matched the description of the stolen red truck. Deputies swarmed the area, and the suspect shot two deputies with an AR-15-type assault weapon before fleeing into a wooded canyon area, Erwin said.

Laura Larson, who lives at the Auburn home where the suspect was apprehended, told KCRA-TV that her uncle was at home when Marquez broke in but her uncle survived. She said her family has "no idea who this guy is.''

She said police used tear gas and some windows were broken at the home. The residence was still considered a crime scene Friday evening and the family was not being allowed to return, she said.

House painter Sean Smith of Sacramento said he was working on the Auburn mayor's home when he heard a series of gunshots.

"Once I heard the rapid fire, I knew it was a shootout,'' he said. "Within 10 minutes there were sirens all over the place and six helicopters screaming overhead.'' 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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