Suspects in police shooting linked to stolen-vehicle ring

Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif.

Two women believed to be part of a stolen-car ring led California police on a 20-mile chase Wednesday before pointing them to a Sacramento hotel where another suspect opened fire with an assault rifle in a shootout that left one officer dead and two others wounded, authorities said.

Deputy Robert French, a 21-year veteran of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, died on the way to a hospital from a gunshot wound to his side, Sheriff Scott Jones said.

The two wounded California Highway Patrol officers were expected to survive. Their names have not been released.

The gunman was arrested after he was wounded in a short car chase, authorities said. Police did not name him or the two women.

Authorities spent hours searching the hotel before determining there were no other suspects inside.

Officers initially went to the hotel during an investigation by an auto theft task force – a joint project among departments.

The chase occurred after they spotted a gray Dodge Charger they thought had been stolen.

Police say they learned while apprehending the women that one had a room at the hotel. Officers returned and knocked on the door of a room to investigate.

Authorities say a man inside opened fire then left through the back, where he shot French and fled in a vehicle.