Mendocino County Sheriff's Office releases names of deputies involved in fatal Highway 101 shooting

A 30-year Mendocino Sheriff's Office veteran is among the three deputies who shot and killed an armed woman on Highway 101 earlier this month.|
NICK RAHAIM
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office released the names of the three deputies Tuesday who shot and killed an armed woman on Highway 101 on Feb 13.

Lt. Kirk Mason and deputies Miguel Vazquez and Jeremy Mason fired at Dawn Elika Center, 48, of Redwood Valley, when she confronted them while holding a handgun after she crashed a stolen sports car, the Sheriff’s Office said. Kirk Mason is a 30-year veteran with the Sheriff’s Office, Vazquez, 11, and Jeremy Mason four.

The District Attorney’s Office is investigating the deputy-involved shooting and will not release additional information until a report is complete, District Attorney David Eyster wrote in an email Friday.

Center allegedly stole a 2015 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at gunpoint from Thurston Auto Plaza in Ukiah around 9:25 a.m. She led deputies on a high-speed chase north on Highway 101 before law enforcement laid down spike strips causing Center to lose control and crash into a ditch north of Willits.

-Nick Rahaim

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