Accused Sacramento Cop Killer Dies Of Gunshot Wounds

SACRAMENTO, CA - A Castro Valley man accused of killing a Sacramento County sheriff's deputy and injuring two CHP investigators at a Sacramento-area motel died of his injuries Saturday, sheriff's officials said.

Thomas Daniel Littlecloud, 32, succumbed to the injuries sustained during the incident, according to sheriff's officials.

Littlecloud is a suspect in the fatal shooting of Deputy Robert French, 52, who died on the way to a hospital after he was shot at the Ramada Inn on Auburn Boulevard in unincorporated Sacramento, Sacramento County sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Tony Turnbull has said.

The Sacramento County case began a little after 9:30 a.m. Wednesday when investigators found an allegedly stolen car in the Ramada Inn parking lot.

Two women got into the car and when authorities tried to stop them, they drove away, prompting a pursuit, Turnbull said. The pursuit ended in Elk Grove.

One of the women, Priscilla Prendez, 23, of Oakland, was arrested by the CHP on suspicion of vehicle theft and felony evasion and booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail, according to Turnbull. The other woman was questioned and released.

Detectives found that Prendez was on searchable probation and registered to a room at the Ramada Inn.

Alameda County probation officials said Prendez has been on probation since May 2016 for auto theft.

Turnbull said when the detectives knocked on the door of the motel room, a battery of shots were fired through the front door and walls of the room, hitting two CHP investigators. Holding an assault rifle, Littlecloud tried to exit through the back balcony of the motel room. There were sheriff's deputies at the back of the building, however, and Littlecloud engaged the deputies in gunfire, striking French, Turnbull said.

Littlecloud jumped into a car, leading officers on a chase and then crashing the car just west of Watt Avenue. Littlecloud was struck by gunfire and was taken to the hospital, according to Turnbull.

The car he was driving was reported stolen from the Bay Area, Turnbull said.

— Bay City News contributed to this report; Image via Shutterstock

Also See:

• 13 Calif. Restaurants Among 100 'Most Scenic' In America, New Ranking Says
• Deer In The Headlights Detained On San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge
• East Bay Couple Travels To Idaho For Solar Eclipse: Photos Of The Day