Sheriff: California officer's killer is in the US illegally

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A gunman suspected of killing a Northern California police officer who pulled him over to investigate if he was driving drunk is in the country illegally, authorities said today.

Stanislaus County Sheriff Adam Christianson said detectives identified the suspect in the slaying of Cpl. Ronil Singh of the small-town Newman Police Department but didn't release his name. The attacker is still on the loose, and he said authorities searching for a second day believe he's still in the area and is armed and dangerous.

"This suspect ... is in our country illegally. He doesn't belong here. He is a criminal," Christianson said at a news conference.

Authorities are looking for a man seen in surveillance photos at a convenience store shortly before Singh was killed Wednesday. Officials pleaded for help from the public and said they were following up on several leads.

"The sheriff's office will spare no expense in hunting down this criminal," said Christianson, whose department is leading the investigation.

Christianson said Singh, a 33-year-old native of Fiji with an infant son, stopped the attacker as part of a DUI investigation and that the officer fired back to try to defend himself.

Singh was shot a few minutes after radioing that he was pulling over a gray pickup truck that had no license plate in Newman, a town of about 10,000 people some 100 miles (160 kilometers) southeast of San Francisco. Singh died at a hospital.