Woman killed after standoff with police in Ukiah hotel

A woman suspected of stealing guns from a home in Sonoma County was shot and killed Thursday night during a standoff with law enforcement officers at a Ukiah hotel, authorities said.

The woman, who was on parole, refused to surrender and told officers that she did not want to return to prison, said Mike Geniella, a spokesman for the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office, which is investigating the shooting.

Investigators have not revealed if she committed suicide or if she was shot by a law enforcement officer or another person during the standoff.

Sonoma County sheriff’s deputies tracked the woman and a man to the Sunrise Inn in Ukiah while investigating a burglary Wednesday at a home in Sonoma County, said Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Spencer Crum. The man, whose name was not released by authorities, was a relative of the house’s owner.

Multiple guns were stolen during the burglary, Geniella said.

Sonoma County deputies converged on the State Street hotel with Ukiah police and Mendocino County deputies around 7 p.m. Thursday. A standoff ensued, lasting about an hour before gunfire erupted at the hotel, Geniella said.

A Sonoma County deputy and a Mendocino County deputy fired their guns when the male suspect pointed a rifle at officers, Geniella said. It was not clear how many shots were fired.

The man surrendered and was taken into custody, Geniella said. The woman was found dead in the bathroom, he said. Her name was not released Friday evening.

The Sonoma County detective has been placed on paid leave as part of the protocol with an officer-involved shooting. His name was not released.

You can reach Staff Writer Bill Swindell at 707-521-5223 or bill.swindell@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @BillSwindell.