Man with gun killed in confrontation with Lake County sheriff's deputy

A Lake County sheriff’s deputy confronted and killed a gunman accused of breaking into a Nice home and stealing a truck Monday afternoon, authorities said.

Sheriff Brian Martin said the deputy was responding to multiple calls about an armed man firing a gun while “running around the neighborhood” in Nice, a small town on the northern shore of Clear Lake.

Witnesses initially reported a man in the 6000 block of Marin Street at about 11:40 a.m., according to a Lake County Sheriff’s Office press release. Ten minutes later, deputies received another report about a “male brandishing a firearm” in the 4000 block of Nice Road.

At some point, the man robbed a home and stole a truck, Martin said. The deputy confronted the suspect near Burpee and Lakeview drives as he attempted to flee in the stolen truck, Martin said.

The suspect was killed in the ensuing gunfire.

“We do know that several rounds were fired,” Martin said. “And we believe the suspect was killed by gunfire from the sheriff’s deputy.”

The Sheriff’s Office is withholding the name of the suspect, a 35-year-old Kelseyville man, until his family is notified.

No one else was injured, Martin said. The shooting is being investigated by the Lake County District Attorney’s Office.

“We’re conducting a parallel criminal and administrative investigation,” Martin said.

The deputy involved in the shooting was placed on paid administrative leave.