One Year Later, Witness Recalls Violent Encounter With Deadly Crime Spree Suspect
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Saturday marks the one-year anniversary of a deadly crime spree that claimed the lives of two Sacramento-area sheriff's deputies.
Sacramento County Sheriff's deputy Danny Oliver was called out to the parking lot of a Motel 6 on Arden Way on Oct. 24, 2014. When he walked up the window, investigators say Luis Enrique Monroy-Bracamonte shot him in the head, killing him.
Over the next six hours, authorities say the gunman eluded hundreds of officers from Sacramento to Auburn. The crime spree also claimed the life of Placer County Sheriff's Det. Michael Davis, Jr. A second Placer County deputy, Jeff Davis, and a citizen were also wounded.
The whole thing ended in a standoff at a home in Auburn where police found the suspect hiding out.
The Motel 6 where the crime spree began has since been demolished as part of a planned redesign of the nearby shopping center.
CBS13's Ron Jones spoke to an optician who was in his office when the suspect allegedly shot an unsuspecting used car salesman.
FULL VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH DAN MALLOY
"I was just here working on a lens," he said.
Dan Malloy has worked at Sacramento Contact Lens and Optometry for 21 years, and he's seen a lot from his office window.
"You hear things all day long in that parking lot," he said.
But what he heard one year ago shook him to his core. It was near the beginning of a violent crime spree that started just blocks away with Oliver's murder.
As the manhunt went on, Bracamonte was apparently headed to his office complex parking lot.
"The car was parked right here just like the Toyota Camry is right now," he said.
Investigators say Bracamonte needed a new getaway car and targeted Anthony Holmes, an unsuspecting car salesman.
"I heard the noise and scuffle and then pop, pop, pop," he said.
Holmes survived and Bracamonte took off.
"There was blood," Malloy said. "There was casings around."
Peering through his office window, Malloy got Holmes' attention and tried to keep him cal.
"The door was open and I'm kind of like, 'Stay right there. We've got somebody coming.' I'm trying to let him know," he said.
Malloy says Bracamonte never saw him standing just feet away in the window.
"Good thing I had those blinds tilted upwards but he may have saw me and taken some shots into the building too," he said.
The shooting continued in Placer County where Bracamonte is also accused of gunning down Davis. Within hours he surrendered.
Malloy is grateful he was able to stay calm and get paramedics to Holmes quickly.
"They were here no time at all. They had it all roped off and pretty much the rest is history I guess," he said.
