Shooting in Kings Beach: Placer sheriff’s deputies arrest man after five rounds fired

Placer County deputies arrested a man in Kings Beach on Monday after receiving a report a day earlier of shots fired in the area.

The Placer County Sheriff’s Office responded to the gunshots about 3:37 a.m. Sunday in the Kings Beach area near Bear Street and Rainbow Avenue, the agency wrote in a social media post.

Deputies contacted a witness who claimed they were woken up by at least five shots outside their residence. The witness also saw a vehicle drive off at a high rate of speed, law enforcement officials said.

Placer deputies found five shell casings at the scene. Deputies said an investigation determined that a victim claimed a man confronted him after a verbal dispute and fired shots from a handgun over the victim’s head.

Placer and Washoe County deputies and detectives identified the shooter as Samuel Navarro, 27, from Incline Village, Nevada.

On Monday, a Placer County deputy spotted Navarro driving in the Kings Beach area about 12:36 a.m. Navarro pulled his vehicle off the road and fled on foot, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Placer deputies engaged in what was described as a “brief but intense manhunt” before locating and arresting Navarro with the help of the California Highway Patrol, Washoe deputies and the Truckee Police Department.

After searching Navarro’s vehicle, deputies said they found a handgun matching the one used in the shooting along with 17 grams of methamphetamine.

Navarro was arrested on suspicion of several charges: attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, negligent discharge of a firearm, possession of a firearm while in possession of a controlled substance and resisting arrest.

This story was originally published June 21, 2021 at 7:08 PM.