02 September, 2017
The Sacramento County Deputy Sheriff's Association has established a memorial fund for one of its own who was killed in a shooting at a motel on Wednesday. Tony Turnbull said Thomas Daniel Littlecloud, 32, is a suspect in the fatal shooting of Deputy Robert French, 52, who died on the way to a hospital after he was shot at the Ramada Inn on Auburn Boulevard in unincorporated Sacramento.
His criminal history dates to 2004, including a six-year sentence for assault with a semi-automatic weapon and prison time of more than a year for vehicle theft, court records show.
A judge ordered his arrest for twice failing to show up in court this summer after agreeing to a plea deal. He was taken to a hospital in critical condition with life-threatening wounds, the sheriff's department said.
There were sheriff's deputies at the back of the building, however, and Littlecloud engaged the deputies in gunfire, striking French, Turnbull said. Two women are also in custody. One was on probation. When they announced themselves, they were hit with gunfire coming from inside the room. The other officer was struck in his hand and wrist, the CHP said. Their identities were not released because they are on an undercover assignment, CHP spokeswoman Fran Clader said. He underwent surgery Thursday morning and is recovering.
Sid Heal, president of the consulting firm California Association of Tactical Officers, said probation searches are mostly routine and peaceful because suspects are on their best behavior. "But it's a tragedy and somebody with that kind of record, I would hesitate before I let them out", said Little.
Littlecloud, 32, of Castro Valley, has a lengthy criminal history dating back to 2004 that includes charges of assaulting a peace officer, assault with a semi-automatic weapon and vehicle theft.
Littlecloud was found Wednesday with a rifle and a high-capacity magazine, which are illegal to purchase in California, Turnbull said.
Two California Highway Patrol investigators were also injured, according to Turnbull.
Two women entered the suspect auto, which eventually led them to Elk Grove, where the women were eventually detained, according to deputies. Arresting officers learned that Prendez was on probation and had booked a room in the Ramada Inn.
Officers arrested Priscilla Prendez, 23, of Oakland and released the other woman, Turnbull said.
"Words aren't going to make an appropriate appreciation of him as a man or his career", Jones said.
A deputy was killed after a shootout during a stolen vehicle investigation that led to a police pursuit and a standoff at a hotel in Sacramento, California, on Wednesday.
