Police answer Roseville standoff questions, address rumors

By Michelle Schultz, Managing Editor,
Published On: Oct 26 2013 02:39:41 PM PDT
Updated On: Oct 26 2013 08:26:04 PM PDT

Roseville police held a press conference to answer questions about the suspect captured in the Roseville standoff and the police who were injured.


Officials hosted a news conference Saturday, where they released several new details in a standoff that lasted nine hours and injured officers one day ago.

Investigators with the Roseville Police Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement also clarified some numbers and facts from Friday's situation, and addressed rumors, as well.

Sammy Duran is the suspect behind the manhunt-turned-standoff. He's accused of injuring multiple officers in several incidents involving gunfire.

The 32-year-old surrendered peacefully about 12:30 a.m. Saturday, ending the all-night affair.

Duran was booked into the Placer County Jail.

So, what prompted Friday's turn of events? Roseville police said when officers tried to arrest Duran, with the help of the ICE special agent, he took off.

The ICE agent was actually working with officers on another operation, as a gang expert in the region, when they spotted Duran on a bike.

"The reason the officers were there was not to look for the suspect they encountered," Lt. Cal Walstad said. "They saw the suspect and knew that he was a wanted parolee."

Officials went after Duran on foot, which is when shots were first fired and the ICE agent was struck in the foot -- about 3:04 p.m.

Roseville police put the special agent in a patrol car and took him to Sutter Roseville Hospital.

"(Duran) was intent on getting away and even murdering any officer that got in his way," the Roseville police chief said at the Saturday news conference.

From there, the manhunt for Duran went from Sixth Street to Windsor Drive to 600 Hampton Drive.

It took a robot entering the house where Duran was barricaded for the standoff to end. But finally, he exited the home with his hands up.

"It's too bad it happened this way, you know?" said Celia Duran, Sammy Duran's mother, earlier Saturday. "It's a shame it happened this way. I did not want it to happen this way. And it did."

Celia Duran said methamphetamine caused her son to lose control.

As for the number of officers hurt either by a direct bullet or bullet fragments, the Roseville chief said it was five Roseville officers injured, plus the federal agent.

"Four of the officers were hit by shrapnel, one officer was hit by a bullet, and the federal agent was hit by a bullet," Chief Daniel Hahn said.

One of the Roseville officers remains in serious condition, hospitalized at Sutter Roseville Hospital.

All of the others have already been released from the medical facility.

Everyone hurt is expected to make a full recovery, even the seriously hurt Roseville officer.

The officers range in age from early 30s to 40 years old, police said. They also range from six to 11 years of experience with the department.

But Duran "put a lot of people in danger besides the officers," the chief said.

One mother, who told KCRA 3's Leticia Ordaz she didn't want to be publicly identified, said Duran entered her Roseville home in the midst of the manhunt.

She wasn't hurt, and neither was her 15-month-old daughter.

The baby didn't even realize anything out of the ordinary was happening, the mother said. The pair snuck out a side door of their house while Duran wasn't looking.

The woman still isn't able to return home as the site is considered a crime scene, she told Ordaz.

In all, about 14-15 homes were evacuated Friday night.

Fifteen people were sheltered at the Maidu Community Center, police said.

Several streets remain closed, such as the 200 block of Sixth Street, and also an area of Hampton. No cars are permitted in certain areas.

Affected residents are able to request a police escort back home, if they need something specific.

Officers asked for patience "as we do our very best work."

Three separate crime scenes are being investigated.

It was in the 600 block of Windsor that Duran shot at Roseville officers through an open window of the house.

It took "a lot of work on the part of negotiators" to get Duran into custody hours later, police said.

Duran did at one point have a handgun, officers confirmed.

He is a validated gang member that police have been dealing with for many years. Duran was also spotted in the area several nights ago, although police were unable to nab him.

Officers wouldn't get into the specifics of what charges Duran will face, but did say parole violation will be one of them.

He was in the Placer County Jail earlier this year on another parole violation charge. When he got out, he violated again, Roseville police said.

A former inmate who was in booking at the Placer County Jail when Duran was being booked told KCRA 3 on Saturday that Duran "looked like he was in a trance, he was like slumped over. And he was like hallucinating."

As for the rumors circulating that the ICE agent shot himself?

The evidence collected so far doesn't show that, the Roseville chief said.

But for anyone who spotted PG&E trucks, the rumors about gas were true.

Reports were floating around that Duran turned on the gas inside the home where he was barricaded -- and there is evidence that shows that was indeed the case.

People could smell it in the neighborhood, so police called PG&E to make sure the house was safe.

"We believe he turned on that gas," a police spokesman said. "Why? We can't know for sure. But that was a major concern for us."

Officers spoke of how grateful they were that the situation ended without any fatalities.

KCRA 3's Mallory Hoff contributed to this report.



Roseville shooting suspect surrenders after hours-long standoff

Mother of barricaded suspect talks to KCRA

Neighbor: Roseville shooting suspect entered my home

Rapid gunfire heard coming from Roseville neighborhood


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