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SONOMA COUNTY, Calif. (KTVU) - New details emerged in a case where a deputy with Sonoma County Sheriff's Office shot an attempted murder suspect Thursday night in Bodega Bay.
The case involves a San Francisco man, allegedly high on LSD, who attacked his friends, stabbed a security guard and then stole a truck before driving into two people. Then, according to police, he drove towards a deputy, who opened fire.
At around 8:10 p.m. California Highway Patrol and deputies were dispatched to the Bodega Harbor subdivision after receiving multiple reports of a man assaulting people near Swan and Heron Drives.
Detectives said they learned the suspect, 32-year-old Betai Koffi, had taken two doses of acid around noon earlier in the day. It was supposed to be a weekend with friends. Koffi and five longtime friends had rented a Bodega Bay home for the Fourth of July holiday. Investigators said Koffi became delusional from his dose at around 3 p.m., but that his friends tried to keep him calm.
Police say between 4 and 5 p.m. he took two more doses of acid. Shortly before 8 p.m., the suspect wanted to leave the rental home, but his friends tried to stop him.
"Koffi punched a woman in the chest and side, then stabbed a man with a pencil, and choked another man, and punched another man in the face," Sonoma Co. Sheriff's Office said in a statement released on Friday.
The suspect then got in his rental car, a blue Hyundai sedan, tried to back out of the driveway but hit a car parked behind him, police said. The suspect then put the car into forward drive, endangering people in his path, but then drove the car into the garage, lodging it into the home.
Police say Koffi exited his car and ran down the street to another home where he was confronted by a security guard. The suspect allegedly stabbed that security guard in the chest with the metal stake end of a landscape light upon questioning. The guard was knocked to the ground, but was able to get back up.
By this time, the suspect is said to have stolen the security guard's truck, which was open and running. At high speed, Koffi allegedly ran the truck towards a man and woman who were walking on the road. The woman was struck and suffered "significant injuries," according to police. He then drove the truck off road, directed at another man and woman walking along a bluff. He allegedly hit that woman, again causing "significant injury."
The wild off-road ride continued when the suspect hit a wall, entered a side yard of a home and drove back out on to Pelican Loop Road. Multiple witnesses then directed police to the suspect on the 21000 block of Pelican Loop. That's when CHP and a sheriff's deputy caught up with the suspect, both of them pulling up in separate vehicles.
Police say Koffi accelerated the stolen truck towards both patrol cars. The deputy then exited his vehicle in an attempt to get out of the way, firing several rounds at the suspect, but Koffi continued to accelerate and collided into the CHP vehicle.
The deputy fired several more rounds at the truck, which eventually stopped the vehicle. The Sheriff's deputy was able to take Koffi into custody and applied first aid until paramedics arrived.
Officials say the suspect was shot three times through the windshield. He was airlifted to a local hospital and is now in critical condition.
The first woman hit by the stolen vehicle was also flown by helicopter to a nearby hospital, but her injuries are not considered life threatening.
The security guard and the second woman hit by the truck were taken to a local hospital by ground ambulances. They are both expected to survive. Koffi's friends who he assaulted did not require hospitalization and were able to treat their own wounds.
Neighbors said it was an unusual scene for a normally quiet area.
“This is as quiet a neighborhood and area that you will ever find. It just feels so safe here it would have to be a specific domestic issue of some sort I would think," said Gary Bradford.
Santa Rosa Police Department and the Sonoma County District Attorney's office will conduct the investigation of this officer involved shooting. The sheriff's office continues their investigation to the events leading up to the shooting.
The suspect is under arrest and faces two counts of attempted murder, three counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one charge of carjacking. Bail has not been set.
Sheriff's officials say they will release the name of the deputy involved soon.