Sonoma County sheriff's deputies fatally shoot suspect in Healdsburg

HEALDSBURG -- Sonoma County Sheriff's deputies fatally shoot a suspect who allegedly stole a truck and refused to drop a weapon during a standoff Friday morning, authorities said.

The sheriff's office tweeted that the shooting happened on the 5600 block of Thomas Road. While the tweet gave Geyserville as the location, that block of Thomas Road appears to be in Healdsburg. 

The sheriff's office said the deadly confrontation happened Friday morning.

Authorities did not release any additional details of what exactly led to the shooting until early Friday evening. Investigators were still working the scene into the afternoon.

The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office later confirmed that deputies were dispatched to the 5200 block of Tre Monte Lane in Geyserville after reports of an unknown adult man who threw a rock through a house window. Initial information indicated multiple residents contacted the man, who asked one of them to shoot him. The man then stole a resident's truck and fled the scene, authorities said, driving through several cattle gates as he left the area.

Deputies found the truck on the 5600 block of Tre Monte Lane, but the man was no longer with the vehicle. Deputies tracked the man into a wooded area east of the 5600 block of Thomas Road. Deputies learned the man stole at least one ATV-type vehicle.

After over an hour of searching for the suspect, deputies found him. Authorities said the man appeared to be holding a weapon. When deputies ordered the the suspect to drop the weapon, he refused. At one point the man appeared to charge at one of the deputies before stopping. 

Deputies said after a standoff and multiple commands to drop the weapon, one deputy deployed his Taser. After it appeared ineffective; a second deputy shot the man shortly after 10 a.m. Deputies immediately administered medical aid and a paramedic was flown to the scene. The man was pronounced dead shortly before 10:30 a.m. Neither deputy was physically injured during the incident.

The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office invoked the Sonoma County Critical Incident Protocol, requesting the Santa Rosa Police Department and the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office to begin an independent investigation into the events that led to the deadly shooting.

The Santa Rosa Police Department will release additional information regarding the investigation on Saturday. Authorities said the identity of the suspect and the deputies involved will be released next week. The Marin County Coroner's Office will be conducting an autopsy on the man who was shot. The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office will conduct its own independent administrative review to determine if deputies followed policies and procedures.