$2,500 reward offered in search for suspect in deadly Santa Rosa homeless camp attack

Police have yet to find the man suspected of driving his car into a Santa Rosa homeless encampment last week, killing one resident and injuring another.

Santa Rosa police on Monday announced a reward for any information leading to the arrest of Clifford Adams. The Sonoma County Alliance Community Engagement and Safety Rewards offered the reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to Adams’ arrest.

Adams, 53, faces charges of murder and attempted murder after police say he gunned his car toward a man with whom he had been fighting at the edge of a small, roadside homeless encampment along Roberts Avenue in south-central Santa Rosa.

The vehicle hit that man, who police say was likely Adams’ primary target, leaving him hospitalized with leg injuries. The woman, who was standing nearby at the time, was struck and pinned under the car. She died before firefighters could free her, according to the Santa Rosa Police Department.

Police on Monday officially identified the victim as 43-year-old Kellie Jones. Relatives and friends last week described her as a mother of two children. She had been homeless since about 2016 and had grown up in Sonoma County, they said. She has family members here, including a brother, while her children and mother live in Humboldt County.

Police identified Adams as the suspect the morning after the March 23 incident at the camp. He is suspected to have fled on foot after driving his car into the camp. Since then, police have investigated Adams’ last known addresses and locations where he was known to spend time, according to Santa Rosa police Sgt. Chris Mahurin.

Mahurin described a search that slowed over the weekend, but said officers continue to receive and investigate tips about Adams’ whereabouts. "We think he’s hunkered down because he knows he’s wanted,“ Mahurin said.

Anyone who has information that would assist with the investigation is encouraged to contact SRPD through its online tip line: www.srcity.org/CrimeTips or by phone at 707-528-5222.

You can reach Staff Writer Andrew Graham at 707-526-8667 or andrew.graham@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @AndrewGraham88

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story, including the headline, has been revised to note that Sonoma County Alliance has offered the reward for information aiding the search for Clifford Adams. The reward was not offered by the Santa Rosa Police Department.