Sonora shootout ends with suspect dead; officer, bystander wounded

A Saturday night shootout between a man and a police officer and two deputies in downtown left the man dead and the officer and a bystander injured. The shootout came after the man led authorities on a roughly 3-mile pursuit.

Tuolumne County Sheriff Jim Mele identified the man as Bruce Thomas Snyder, 29, whose last known address was Jamestown. Authorities said Snyder was on parole for assault with a deadly weapon.

The shooting also resulted in the closure of several blocks along Washington Street until about 2 p.m. Sunday as authorities gathered evidence at the crime scene.

Snyder’s stepfather, Mitch Hrdlicka, said family members are grieving their loss and are saddened and embarrassed by the incident. “We feel so terrible about this,” Hrdlicka said.

Mele and other officials gave this account of the shooting during a Sunday news conference, based on the initial investigation:

The Sonora Police Department received a 911 call about 10 p.m. from a residence, reporting that there was a man there with a handgun.

The man was gone when the officer arrived, but the officer spotted the man, later identified as Snyder, in a late 1970s to early 1980s blue El Camino on Washington Street near School Street.

The officer stopped the El Camino on Washington near Theall Street. Synder got out of his car and fired at the officer. The officer returned fire. The bystander – identified as a visitor from North Carolina – was shot in the upper torso during the gunfight.

She was treated and released from Sonora Regional Medical Center. Her name was not released. Authorities are trying to determine who shot her.

The police officer also was shot in his duty belt. The officer was treated and released at Sonora Regional.

Snyder got back in his El Camino and drove south to Highway 108 with the officer in pursuit. He drove west on the highway and then north on Stockton Road and back to downtown. Three sheriff’s deputies joined the pursuit on Stockton.

The pursuit ended on Washington near Theall. Snyder got out of his car and fired at the officer and deputies. The officer and two of the deputies returned fire.

Mele said authorities are trying to determine how many shots were fired in the two gunbattles.

Authorities did not release the name of the officer and two deputies, but Mele said their names eventually will be released. He said the three are on paid administrative leave while the shooting is being reviewed. That is standard practice in officer-involved shootings.

Mele said the police officer is a seven-year veteran of the Sonora Police Department. One deputy is a 22-year veteran and the second started his career in July. Mele said the rookie deputy was being trained by another deputy Saturday night. That deputy did not fire his weapon.

Mele said the last officer-involved shooting in Tuolumne County occurred in 2001.

The Police Department, Sheriff’s Department and Tuolumne County District Attorney’s Office are investigating the incident with help from the state Department of Justice.

Authorities did not release the address of the home where the 911 call was made regarding a man with a gun or additional details about what prompted the call.

A Police Department log shows that a call was made from an Orchard Avenue home at 10:07 p.m. Saturday, reporting a man with a gun was at the residence. A woman who answered the door Sunday afternoon declined to comment.

Hrdlicka said he and other family members are trying to make sense of a senseless act. He said without question there was a troubled side to his stepson. “He’d lose it and end up in bar fights,” Hrdlicka said.

But Hrdlicka said Snyder also had another side, a side that was hardworking and generous. Snyder worked for Affordable Moving and Storage in Sonora. Hrdlicka said his stepson showed his generosity in many ways, such as making sure friends who were down on their luck had something to eat or filling up the gas tank for someone who couldn’t afford to do so.

This story was originally published November 23, 2014 at 7:31 AM with the headline "Sonora shootout ends with suspect dead; officer, bystander wounded."