Carmichael triple killing stemmed from apartment robbery gone wrong, sheriff says
A failed robbery attempt inside a Carmichael apartment Sunday led to the fatal shooting of three men, authorities have determined.
The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office said Monday that the triple shooting would not result in homicide charges for an 18-year-old occupant of the apartment who fired back at two robbers, killing them, after another resident inside the home was gunned down.
All three victims, who have yet to be identified by the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office, were in their 20s, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Monday.
Deputies responded around 7 a.m. Sunday to the 4800 block of El Camino Avenue after a caller reported bullet holes in an apartment door and was unable to reach family members inside. Investigators later determined that one of the men who died had been targeted in a robbery by the other two, who had entered the apartment.
The Sheriff’s Office said that when deputies arrived, they found the three dead from gunshot wounds “and firearms were located next to them.”
Deputies said the 18-year-old, who was also “illegally armed with a handgun,” was located in the home and detained. It was unclear if he was injured in the gunfight that took place overnight.
Investigators learned that the teen fired at the two alleged robbers after one of them fatally shot the man they were attempting to rob. A witness and video surveillance footage later confirmed that sequence of events, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
“All four individuals ... were prohibited from possessing firearms due to prior felony convictions,” deputies said in the release.
The 18-year-old was subsequently arrested on firearm-related charges. Deputies said he was on active probation and wearing an ankle monitor at the time of the shooting. No homicide-related charges were filed, however, because detectives said the facts of the case did not meet the criteria for murder under California law.
Sheriff’s Sgt. Amar Gandhi said Sunday that the investigation was delayed because property managers at the Lance Apartments, operated by Mercy Housing, did not provide immediate access to surveillance footage.
In their statement Monday, the Sheriff’s Office said “with that video, detectives were able to identify a key witness, who was located and questioned.”
The 18-year-old was booked into Sacramento County Main Jail on suspicion of one felony charge of being prohibited from possessing a firearm and for violating probation. He is being held on $50,000 bail and is expected to be arraigned Wednesday in Sacramento Superior Court.
