Sacramento sheriff says Bay Area man fatally shot deputy
Priscilla Prendez, 23, of Oakland. Sacramento Sheriff's Deputy Robert French.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A Castro Valley man and a Oakland woman were both identified Thursday as being behind the fatal shooting of a Sacramento County Sheriff's deputy in a brazen attack that also wounded two highway patrol officers.
Sheriff’s homicide detectives say Thomas Daniel Littlecloud, 32, is the man responsible for the shooting death of veteran Deputy Robert French Wednesday at a Ramada Inn in Sacramento.
Deputies also arrested Priscilla Prendez, 23, for vehicle theft and felony evasion. She is being held in lieu of $90,000 bail.
Another woman was questioned and released.
California Highway Police officers discovered Prendez had registered a room at the Ramada Inn where the shootout later occurred after she led them on a 20-mile chase in what is believed to be a stolen vehicle.
Police say they learned while apprehending the women that one had a room at the motel. Officers returned and knocked on the door of a room to investigate.
A man inside opened fire then left through the back, where he allegedly shot French and fled in a vehicle, authorities said. Pursuing officers exchanged fire with the man, who was hit, sheriff's spokesman Tony Turnbull said.
French, 52, died on the way to a hospital from a gunshot wound to his side, Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones said.
Littlecloud remains hospitalized in critical condition with life-threatening wounds.
The wounded highway patrol officers are in stable condition and expected to survive. Their names have not been released.
The sheriff described French as a well-known, well-respected training officer assigned to patrol the county's northern areas.
French is survived by his live-in girlfriend, adult children and grandchildren and a sister.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.