Gunman in Kelseyville arrested after large law enforcement response

A gunman suspected of firing several shots at law enforcement officers in Kelseyville was arrested Monday afternoon after a more than six-hour manhunt involving SWAT teams from three North Coast counties.

About 5 p.m., Joshua “Buck” Brown, 43, of Kelseyville, was found by teams searching his property and taken into custody without incident, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

No one was injured during the incident, and no shots were fired by law enforcement officers.

Brown had allegedly brandished both a handgun and a rifle while confronting Caltrans workers, CHP officers and a county supervisor twice Monday morning on Highway 29 during erection of a K-rail to block an illegal access road he had created on his property, according to Lake County Supervisor Rob Brown, who represents the area.

The supervisor, who is not related to the suspect, said Joshua Brown had a dispute regarding a neighbor’s easement through his property. Joshua Brown allegedly blocked the easement with “big piles of concrete” and made his own road instead.

“He was trying to block his neighbor off from going through his property,” the county supervisor said. “Everybody around town kind of knows what’s been going on because it’s been happening for a real long time, but we don’t know all the details.”

The incident began about 10:30 a.m. in the area of Highway 29 and Cole Creek Road, according to the CHP.

A man identified as Joshua Brown approached the roadwork site brandishing a handgun and yelling at Caltrans workers and CHP officers before retreating and returning moments later in a truck, according to a CHP news release.

Joshua Brown got out of the truck armed with a rifle, and fired three rounds at law enforcement officers and Caltrans workers, officials said.

He also later fired two shots at a California State Parks officer at a nearby residence who was helping maintain a perimeter before fleeing on foot into an area of brush and woods, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

A CHP report of the incident indicated the suspect was wearing only red underwear and a red bandana when he appeared at the construction site. But Rob Brown, who was on the scene to observe Caltrans’ work, said the suspect was wearing what he described as red shorts, a bandana and shoes.

The gunfire brought a flood of agencies from throughout Lake County - additional CHP officers, Lake County Sheriff’s deputies and the county SWAT team, Lakeport police, Clearlake police and state parks officers.

Later in the morning they were joined by CHP and Sonoma County sheriff’s helicopters and SWAT teams from Mendocino and Sonoma county sheriffs’ departments.

A perimeter around the area was established and several roads off Highway 29 were closed to reduce traffic and make way for police agencies headed to the rural area.

Highway 29 was closed at Live Oak Drive in Kelseyville and to the south at the highway and Bottle Rock Road.

The search area was in rural, rugged, hilly terrain with few residents, said CHP Sgt. Josh Dye. Lake County Sheriff’s Sgt. Corey Paulich estimated 30 to 40 law enforcement officers were involved.

According to morning dispatch reports, many residents received an automated shelter-in-place phone call from the Sheriff’s Office to stay inside due to the law enforcement effort near Highway 29 and Sand Creek Road, and for people to avoid Highway 29 through Kelseyville south to Soda Bay Road.

As the search for Joshua Brown continued, Highway 29 was closed for hours between Live Oak Drive and Bottle Rock Road, and Live Oak Drive was also closed between Cruickshank and Cole Creek roads, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Traffic was rerouted from Highway 29 to Soda Bay Road, along Clear Lake.

Joshua Brown was a familiar figure to public officials, who described him as intensely opposed to law enforcement and the government establishment.

“We’ve had several dealings with him,” said Lake County Sheriff Brian Martin. Rob Brown said he knew Joshua Brown well, going back to the suspect’s high school days.

“He’s gotten increasingly worse over the years as far as what appears to be his mental attitude,” the county supervisor said.

Local resident Helen Finch was irritated she couldn’t get back to her home on Live Oak Drive for much of the day because of the road closures, but was relieved the situation wasn’t worse.

“I don’t think we get to fuss too much - we live in a pretty peaceful neighborhood where this kind of thing doesn’t happen all the time,” she said. “I think there was some reassurance in the fact that it was … not any kind of a real menace.”

The Lake County District Attorney’s Office is conducting a criminal investigation.

You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 707-521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com. You can reach Staff Writer J.D. Morris at 707-521-5337 or jd.morris@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @thejdmorris.