Oakland Homicide Suspect Shoots Self in Santa Maria
Update: Gale Lee Boyd, 46, Brain Dead After Likely Suicide at Truck Stop
[Update: Wednesday, 10:34 a.m.]: Las Vegas resident Gale Lee Boyd, 46, is the man suspected of shooting to death Matthew Hanson, 30, in Oakland on June 9. Boyd, who shot himself in the head during a June 10 standoff with authorities at a Santa Maria truck stop, was declared “brain dead” late Saturday morning, said Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Kelly Hoover in a prepared statement.
His death is being investigated as a likely suicide, although its official cause and manner depends on lab and toxicology reports.
[Original Story]: As the sun rose Friday morning, employees at Santa Maria’s Pappy’s Restaurant were taking shelter from a male homicide suspect who had barricaded himself inside his van at a neighboring truck stop.
Oakland police officers had been searching for the suspect — whose name hasn’t been released — in connection with the murder of a 30-year-old male Oakland resident who was shot to death just after 10 a.m. Thursday in his live-work space in the 1000 block of 22nd Avenue in East Oakland, as reported by The Mercury News. Because the victim’s family hasn’t been notified, said Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Kelly Hoover, his name hasn’t been released.
Around 4:45 a.m. Friday morning, the Sheriff’s Office learned from the San Luis Obispo CHP and the Santa Maria Police Department that a homicide suspect — presumed to be armed and dangerous — was possibly in the Santa Maria area. By 5:45 a.m., a Sheriff’s deputy recognized the suspect’s white van at a truck stop off Highway 101 and Betteravia Road.
Barricading himself inside the van, the suspect refused to go quietly with authorities. According to a Sheriff’s Office press release, officials with the Sheriff’s Hostage Negotiation Team tried for several hours by phone to talk him into surrendering peacefully. Workers who were preparing for the 7 a.m. opening at Pappy’s, as well as customers at the nearby Chevron gas station and truck stop, “were immediately told to shelter in place then were evacuated by the Santa Maria Police Department,” said Hoover.
CHP officers and Caltrans personnel closed down the highway’s northbound exit at Betteravia and Betteravia between Telephone and Bradley roads. The Sheriff’s Special Enforcement Team (SET), the Santa Maria police’s SWAT Team, Santa Maria firefighters, and AMR personnel arrived on scene.
At about 9:15 a.m., the suspect fired a single gunshot inside the van. Using projectiles to break the van’s window, SET members caught sight of the wounded suspect. He was transported by CALSTAR helicopter to a local hospital, where he was treated for “significant injuries” to the head, said Hoover. As of Monday afternoon, the suspect’s condition was unknown.
