Suspect fatally shot in Calaveras County hostage situation identified as Modesto man
The armed man shot and killed by law enforcement late last week in San Andreas after allegedly taking a 75-year-old woman hostage has been identified by the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Department as a Modesto resident.
The department issued a news release Monday identifying the man as 47-year-old Mark Aitulagi Lavea. The release said his criminal history summary is 14 pages long and includes more than a dozen arrests and convictions dating to 1989.
The department also released the names of the deputies involved in the incident: Jonathan Brown (14 months of service), Michael Jericoff (2 years of service), Nicholas Riviera (2 years of service), Mark Silvia (1.5 years of service), and Brandon Buie (14 months of service).
All of the deputies have been placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure in officer-involved shootings. An Angels Camp police officer also responded to the incident. The news release did not identify the officer.
Brown and the 75-year-old (whom authorities initially identified as 77 years old) were wounded. Authorities previously said both were expected to recover. Monday’s news release states Brown has been released from the hospital. There was no update for the 75-year-old.
The release states it appears the hostage was “struck by both fragmentation and ricocheting rounds from law enforcement firearms. However, evidence is still being analyzed. It is also unknown at this time if the hostage-taker shot the victim after being shot by law enforcement.”
The shooting took place at the Diamond Place Apartment complex. But the incident started late Thursday at the Sierra Inn Motel with deputies responding to reports of a man pointing a gun at a woman. Both were gone when deputies arrived. Authorities determined the identities of the man and woman.
Authorities determined the woman lives at the Diamond Place Apartments and then went there to check on her. Shots were fired as deputy Brown interviewed the woman in the parking lot. One shot struck Brown.
Authorities then searched for the suspect, who had entered the 75-year-old woman’s apartment and taken her hostage, the release said.
“It should be noted the 75-year-old female was physically disabled and was using a walker to assist her as she exited the apartment with the suspect standing directly behind her with a handgun using her as a human shield,” the release states.
Hiding behind the hostage, Lavea began advancing toward deputies, who were in an elevated parking lot. As Lavea tried to force the hostage up a concrete stairway, a deputy shot him and he fell away from the woman. Lavea then got back onto his feet and appeared to fire one shot toward deputies before he was shot again, the release states. Lavea tried to get up again and was shot a third time. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Lavea’s criminal history includes convictions for assault with a deadly weapon, child cruelty, felony battery, domestic violence and auto theft, the release states. In 2019, Lavea was sentenced to six years in state prison on a domestic violence conviction. He also had a restraining order issued against him April 20 that had not been served yet.
The Sheriff’s Department “would like to thank the witnesses who called to report that they saw the suspect pointing the gun at the female,” the release concludes. “It is important to stand up for victims of domestic violence who may otherwise not report crimes and abuse.”
This story was originally published May 10, 2021 at 5:19 PM.
