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Friday, Mar. 06, 2009

Oakdale man arrested after shots ring out

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OAKDALE — Police arrested a man suspected of firing shots from a Ponderosa Drive apartment complex Thursday evening.

The suspect also shot in the direction of three Oakdale police officers but dropped his handgun and surrendered when one of the officers fired back, Police Chief Marty West said.

West identified the suspect as Golden Empire Apartments resident Daniel Rich, 56. West said Rich was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and shooting at an inhabited dwelling and vehicles. He was to booked at the Stanislaus County Jail on Thursday night.

The incident unfolded about 4:30 p.m. A man driving on Highway 108, just south of the apartment complex, called police to report that his car had been struck by gunfire. Other callers said shots had been fired at houses across the street from the apartment complex. Police surrounded the area and closed Highway 108 from about Willowood Drive to Lee Avenue.

West said the suspect was firing from his second-story unit in the apartment complex.

"We believe he was just shooting at random from the front door or landing," West said, adding that the investigation still is in its early stages. "Then he came out and shot in the direction of our officers."

West said Rich declined to make a statement.

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West said the only injury at scene of the shooting was to a second man inside the apartment with the shooter. That man fell or was pushed down the apartment complex's stairs. West said the man sustained minor injuries and was taken to Oak Valley Hospital.

West declined to release the man's name but said he appeared to be under the influence of some sort of substance.

A Stanislaus County sheriff's deputy driving to the shooting crashed his car near Albers and Milnes roads. He sustained moderate injuries after hitting a UPS truck and power pole, said Deputy Royjindar Singh, the sheriff's spokesman. The deputy, whose name wasn't released, was taken by helicopter to a Modesto hospital, Singh said. The UPS driver was not injured.

Golden Empire resident Edie Hodge said she heard what sounded like gunfire or firecrackers and sirens around 4:30 p.m., but did not think much of it. But when she went to take her trash out she saw SWAT team members crouched several feet away.

"I'm just walking out of my apartment and there's a rifle pointed a me," she said. "It was the SWAT team. I guess I startled them. Oh my gosh. They said, 'Get inside.' I came inside. They wouldn’t let anyone in and out. They had everything roped off."

West said as many as 60 officers from Oakdale, Modesto, Ceres and the Sheriff's Office responded to the shooting. He said officers reopened Highway 108 within 1 to 1½ hours.

Bee staff writer Leslie Albrecht can be reached at lalbrecht@ modbee.com or 578-2378.