Wanted on child sex abuse warrant, man plows head-on into Redding business, killing himself
REDDING, Calif., — Authorities say a man who was wanted in connection with an ongoing child sexual abuse investigation was killed when he crashed into the side of a furniture store on Dana Drive Saturday morning, May 28. It was not immediately clear if the man intended to crash into the side of the building or if the collision was accidental, which is part of Redding PD’s ongoing investigation.
Although officers used less-lethal bean bag rounds to shoot out the pickup’s back window so a camera-equipped drone could get a look inside the truck after the fatal wreck, no other shots were fired by law enforcement officers who either witnessed or responded to the scene of the deadly wreck, according to officials.
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As part of an ongoing child sexual abuse investigation that began earlier this month, City of Redding police officers and detectives identified a suspect and obtained a warrant for the man’s arrest, Redding Police Captain Ron Icely has since said of yesterday’s fatal incident. The alleged suspect’s name has not yet been released, pending further investigation and notification of the man’s family.
“During the investigation, it was also determined that the suspect was possibly in possession of multiple firearms,” Icely explained.
With their investigation and search for the suspect continuing, at around 8:09 a.m. yesterday morning, Redding PD officers spotted the suspect driving a silver 2016 Ford F-150 in the area of Canby Road and Victor Avenue and attempted to conduct a traffic stop.
The suspect refused to yield to the officers’ lights and sirens and turned into the Walmart Shopping Center located at 1515 Dana Drive via the main entrance.
The driver, who was the sole occupant of the pickup truck, “then turned west through the parking lot and for reasons unknown, accelerated and collided head-on with the west wall of Ashley Furniture located at 1405 Dana Drive,” Icely went on to explain.
After the pickup truck plowed at high speed into the furniture store’s wall officers began hailing the man, who appeared to be unconscious and non-responsive inside his vehicle, but they received no answer from inside the wrecked Ford.
“Officers were unable to see the solo occupant of the vehicle and there was no response to the multiple verbal commands being given for the suspect to exit,” said Icely.
“Due to the suspect having a felony warrant and the strong likelihood that he was armed, officers used tactics and specialized assets to confirm that the suspect was not in possession of a firearm and not a threat to officers,” the Lieutenant continued. “One of those tactics was the use (of) … bean bag rounds to break out windows in order to clearly view the interior of the suspect’s vehicle with the use of a camera-equipped drone.”
RPD SWAT officers who eventually approached the pickup determined that the suspect had already succumbed to his injuries and located a loaded firearm inside the cab area of the truck.
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The Shasta County Sheriff – Coroner’s Office responded to the scene and is assisting Redding PD with their investigation, which is active and ongoing, according to Icely.
Anyone with further information regarding this investigation is encouraged to contact Redding PD at (530) 225-4200. Callers can refer to incident file number 22R028163 and can remain anonymous.
This is a developing story that will be updated as new information becomes available.
Editor’s note: The audio of this video, filmed from the scene by Mike Daly, is not synced with the video – and was edited into the video prior to being used by SCNS.
Contact the writer: [email protected]
Trevor Montgomery, 51, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and operates Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS). Both are stringer organizations, providing breaking news coverage and community interest stories for other mainstream media organizations throughout the two regions they serve.
Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.
Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.