Woman beaten ‘for days’ by ex-husband before deadly officer-involved I-80 shooting
The man shot dead by Sacramento County sheriff’s deputies at the end of a pursuit that closed eastbound Interstate 80 near Citrus Heights for hours on Sunday brutally beat his former wife for days before leading deputies on the fatal chase, authorities said.
Pursuing deputies fatally shot the armed man just before 11 a.m. on eastbound I-80 just west of the Antelope Road exit miles after their chase began on Fair Oaks Boulevard near Kenneth Avenue. Sheriff’s officials said the man pointed his weapon at deputies before they opened fire.
The deputies were not hurt and were placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into the shooting, said Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office. The man will be identified by Sacramento County coroner’s officials once next of kin are notified.
Sheriff’s officials detailed the desperate moments an hour before the shooting that triggered the ordeal: a woman, battered and bleeding, pounding on doors for help in the 2200 block of Zinfandel Drive.
Multiple calls to sheriff’s dispatchers brought deputies to the woman, who sheltered in the apartment of a Good Samaritan, Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office said. The woman told deputies that over three days she was repeatedly beaten, pistol-whipped and strangled into near unconsciousness before receiving yet another beating Sunday morning. Finally, she “played dead,” the woman told deputies, until the man left the room, giving her time to leave her home and call for help.
The woman did not know her ex-husband’s whereabouts, she told deputies, but said he was armed. Deputies alerted neighboring authorities before finding the man driving on Fair Oaks Boulevard near Kenneth Avenue and attempting to initiate the traffic stop that began the freeway chase.
The pursuit and subsequent shooting forced the shutdown of I-80 eastbound for an extended length of time, leaving some motorists reporting on social media that they had been caught in traffic “for hours” before the highway was cleared.
California Highway Patrol is investigating the shooting. Sheriff’s homicide and professional standards investigators will conduct a parallel inquiry. Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office will also conduct a review of the incident.
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