Deputy Shoots Assault Suspect In Bodega Bay: Sheriff's Office

BODEGA BAY, CA — A man accused of assaulting at least seven people before he was shot by a Sonoma County sheriff's deputy Thursday, July 4 in Bodega Bay had taken four hits of acid, a hallucinogenic drug also known as LSD, in the hours leading up to a series of incidents that left several people injured and hospitalized, a sergeant with the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office said in an update about the deputy-involved shooting.

The suspect, 32-year-old San Francisco resident Betai Koffi, suffered at least three gunshot wounds and remained hospitalized in critical condition Friday, sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Crum said.

A sheriff's deputy and a California Highway Patrol officer were dispatched at about 8 p.m. Thursday to reports of a man assaulting multiple people in the area of Heron and Swan drives.

Sheriff's detectives have since questioned numerous witnesses and collected video evidence, their investigation revealing that Koffi and five longtime friends arrived in Bodega Bay Wednesday for the Fourth of July holiday and were renting a home together in the 600 block of Swan Drive.

It is believed that at noon Thursday, Koffi took two doses of acid. At 3 p.m., he started acting delusional in the rental home and his friends tried to keep him calm. Sometime between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m., Koffi took two more doses of the LSD, Crum said.

Shortly before 8 p.m., he wanted to leave the house but his friends tried to stop him.

At that point, Koffi reportedly punched a female friend in the chest and side, stabbed a male friend with a pencil and choked and punched another male friend.

He succeeded in getting out of the home, at which point he got into his rented blue Hyundai sedan and tried back out of the driveway but hit another car that was parked behind his.

He then drove forward, toward one of his male friends, Crum said. When the friend moved out of the way, Koffi drove the car into the garage and lodged the car into the home.

Koffi got out of the car and ran to a home several doors down, where he was confronted by a security guard. When the security guard questioned him, Koffi picked up a landscape light with a metal stake attached, stabbing the guard in the chest with the stake, Crum said.

The guard was knocked to the ground and could not get up, Crum said.

Koffi then stole the security guard’s truck, which was unlocked and running, and sped away.

According to Crum, a man and woman Koffi did not know were walking in the road when he drove straight toward them.

"Koffi ... violently hit the woman with the truck causing significant injuries," Crum said.

The man was also hit and suffered minor injuries to his arm.

Koffi then reportedly drove off-road and straight toward another man and woman who were walking on a bluff.

"He aimed at the woman and hit her with the truck, causing significant injuries," Crum said.

Koffi continued driving off-road, hitting a wall and driving into the side yard of a home, before driving back out onto Pelican Loop Road — at which point a deputy and a California Highway Patrol officer arrived on scene and stopped, with their two vehicles in the roadway, side-by-side, Crum said.

Koffi reportedly accelerated toward the two patrol cars, straight toward the officers, according to Crum.

"The deputy, who had exited his patrol car attempting to get out of the way fired several rounds at Koffi but he continued to accelerate, colliding into the CHP officer’s car," Crum said.

As Koffi continued to accelerate and the deputy fired several more rounds, the truck came to a stop.

The deputy then took Koffi into custody and applied medical aid until paramedics arrived, according to Crum.

Koffi was flown by helicopter to a nearby hospital.

The first woman he allegedly hit with the truck was also airlifted to a hospital for significant but not life threatening injuries.

The security guard Koffi allegedly stabbed and the second woman he is accused of hitting with the truck were driven in ambulances to a local hospital. Both were expected to survive their injuries.

His friends at the rental home treated their own injuries and did not require hospitalization, Crum said.

Koffi was struck by gunshots at least three times through the windshield; his injuries were described as major.

While in critical condition Friday at the hospital, Koffi was placed under arrest on suspicion of two counts of attempted murder, three counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one carjacking count.

Bail had not been set for Koffi as of Friday evening.

The sheriff's office plans to release video of the incidents in the near future, Crum said.

Meanwhile, under countywide policy for officer-involved shootings, the Santa Rosa Police Department and Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office are investigating the shooting, and the sheriff's office is continuing its investigation of the assaults and events leading up to the shooting.