Monte Rio Manhunt Ends In Homicide Arrest: Sonoma County Sheriff

MONTE RIO, CA — A man suspected in a fatal shooting Tuesday in Monte Rio was taken into custody following an hours-long manhunt, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office.

Shelter-in-place orders were in effect for more than five hours Tuesday for certain areas of Monte Rio as the sheriff's office searched for 32-year-old Francisco Gonzalez.

Gonzalez is suspected of shooting and killing a man Tuesday morning in the 20000 block of Willow Road.

Around 11 a.m. Tuesday, the sheriff's office told community members near Willow and Alder roads to shelter in place as deputies and personnel from neighboring law enforcement agencies searched for the suspect in a shooting.

At 12:40 p.m., the sheriff's office said the suspect was considered armed and dangerous and broadened the shelter-in-place order to include all areas of Monte Rio east of the Bohemian Highway and south and east of the Russian River.

The suspect was described as a 6-foot-1-inch Hispanic man who was last seen wearing a blanket over his arms and red tennis shoes. Residents were told not to approach the suspect but to call 911 if they saw him.

Shortly after 4:30 p.m., the sheriff's office announced Gonzalez was arrested on Green Valley Road near Green Valley School Road.

"Thank you to the alert community members who called us when they saw him!" the sheriff's office said.