- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Kelseyville shooting suspect makes first court appearance
Joshua Caleb “Buck” Brown, 43, was arraigned in Lake County Superior Court on Wednesday afternoon, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff.
Authorities said Brown shot at California Highway Patrol officers Rob Hearn and Glen Thomas, Supervisor Rob Brown and two Caltrans workers on Monday morning.
Rob Brown told Lake County News that the group was at the site of an illegal road easement Buck Brown had cut between Cruickshank Road and Cole Creek Road on Highway 29 as the result of a property dispute. Caltrans was there to place k-rail in front of the cut Buck Brown made.
Buck Brown first approached the group on foot with a handgun, then left and returned in a pickup, got out and began shooting at them with a rifle before retreating into nearby trees and brush, according to CHP and Lake County Sheriff’s Office reports.
After a six-and-a-half-hour-long search for Brown, SWAT teams located him while serving a search warrant on his property. He surrendered without incident, authorities said.
While Brown was arrested at about 5 p.m. Monday, he wasn’t booked into the Lake County Jail until shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday, based on jail records.
Hinchcliff said Brown has so far been charged with two counts of assault with a firearm on a peace officer, two counts of felony threats for the two Caltrans workers and two counts of negligent discharge of a firearm.
Brown also is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, Hinchcliff said.
In 2003, Brown was convicted of felony drug possession, Hinchcliff said.
The court later reduced the charge from a felony to a misdemeanor because Brown attended drug court. However, Hinchcliff said the reduced conviction still prevents Brown from being able to possess a firearm.
When Brown was booked, the charges against him also included attempted murder. However, that so far has not been formally charged by the District Attorney’s Office, with Hinchcliff explaining that a great deal of investigative work remains to be done and the counts against him could change.
“We’ve just started, really,” he said of the District Attorney’s Office’s work on the case.
Brown’s bail has been set at $230,000, with attorney Mitchell Hauptman appointed as defense counsel, Hinchcliff said.
Hinchcliff said Brown is set to return to court on Tuesday, Aug. 22, for the appearance of counsel.
Because there were shots fired and officers were involved – although they didn’t return fire – the county’s officer-involved shooting protocol calls for an investigation, Hinchcliff said.
Hinchcliff said the District Attorney’s Office is handling that investigation, and on Wednesday was interviewing witnesses and people involved in the incident.
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