Posted on 08/08/2003 4:48:23 PM PDT by concentric circles
Authorities surrounded a desert residence today where a 52-year-old man suspected of killing a sheriff's deputy last Saturday is holed up with high-powered weapons according to ABC7 broadcast reports. Sheriff's Deputy Johnnie Jones told ABC7 that Donald Charles Kueck, the suspect in the shooting death of resident Deputy Stephen Sorensen, is believed to be pinned down.
"We're pretty sure," Jones said. "We're pretty positive that our guy's here. And we've got him surrounded, and, hopefully, we're going to catch him."
He told ABC7 that "we got some information from some sources that's led us out here. A few things have helped us confirm it. I can't really go into that. But we're pretty sure he's out there right now."
Jones said authorities believe Kueck is inside alone.
"I'm not sure if that's a house or what over there. It's a pretty large area and he knows the area real well. And he's got a lot of people who know him out here, so ... we've got to contain him and go in ... hopefully, we'll get him to surrender safely."
ABC7 indicated that the man authorities believe is Kueck has been using the dead deputy's stolen two-way radio, and has spoken to sheriff's personnel.
Authorities used a battering ram on a ramshackle residence yesterday in hopes of finding Kueck, who has a history of resisting arrest, but came up empty.
Jones was asked how dangerous authorities consider Kueck.
"Well, he killed a sheriff's deputy," Jones replied.
Sorensen, who was 46, was buried yesterday following a funeral in Lancaster attended by thousands of people, including Gov. Gray Davis, Sheriff Lee Baca and county Supervisor Mike Antonovich.
Sorensen, a transplant from Torrance who had made a name for himself around Llano and Lake Los Angeles as an old-time law enforcement officer, was killed on his day off while investigating a trespass call.
He basically ran a sheriff's substation out of his home, singlehandedly patrolling a vast area, much like Canada's Mounties of old.
The resident deputy, whose beat covered 150 square miles, was killed near 165th Street East and Avenue T-8.
Before becoming a deputy, Sorensen worked 12 years for the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors as a lifeguard and emergency medical technician.
After the sheriff's department took over that agency, Sorensen became a deputy. He worked for 12 years in the sheriff's department in a number of assignments, including in several county jails.
Sorensen's boss, Capt. Carl Deeley, told the Los Angeles Times that the slain deputy was a "social worker, confidant, psychologist, priest -- and he was a cop."
Sorensen, who is survived by his wife Christine, an adult son and a young daughter, also had filed a lawsuit, alleging that some members of the Lake Los Angeles Rural Town Council were intent on running him out of town.
His attorney told the Los Angeles Times that Sorensen was afraid for his life. A lawyer for the respondents said it was merely a coincidence that Sorensen got killed during the pendency of his lawsuit.
A fund has been established for the Sorensen family. Donations may be sent to the "Sheriff's Relief Association, Fund #304" or "Stephen D. Sorensen Fund," 11515 S. Colima Road, Whittier, CA 90604.
Preferably dead. Lotsa white trash and meth heads in that area.
Saturday 8/2, Cop Killer At Large in Southern CA's High Desert
Sunday 8/3, Deputies seek cop killer
Sunday 8/3, Sorensen liked serenity of Valley
Wednesday 8/6, Suspect named in slaying of deputy
I hope they get the chief killer too.
Police cornered the prime suspect in the shooting death of Deputy Stephen Sorensen in a Lake Los Angeles house Friday and vowed that he would be taken.
Sheriff Lee Baca during a 4:30 p.m. press briefing outside the Antelope Valley standoff said that Donald Charles Kueck (pictured, left), 52, was talking to officials.
Kueck "is not doing well mentally. He obviously knows he needs to give up, or, at some point, we will move in on him," Baca said.
Authorities confirmed that Kueck shot the deputy, but did not provide further details.
Fifty to 70 special agents are at the scene, according to NBC4.
Authorities traced Kueck by intercepting cell phone communications, according to NBC4. Kueck was reportedly using the slain deputy's radio.
Authorities have determined that a .223 long-caliber assault weapon was used to kill Sorensen (pictured, right), according to NBC4.
Sorensen, a 12-year sheriff's department veteran, was responding Aug. 2 to a trespassing call in Llano when shots rang out. Deputies rushed to the area after a 911 caller reported hearing gunshots and dispatchers were unable to contact Sorensen by radio.
Investigators found Sorensen's bloodstained patrol car and other signs of a struggle and his body was later discovered less than a quarter-mile away. Sorensen's 9mm Beretta service handgun has been missing.
Anybody know what a .223 Long is? :) I'd say that they mean "large" but that hardly describes the .223. Nor is particularly "high" power except in the sense that anything other than .22 rimfire is "high power.
The Newhall Signal
SCV Deputy Killed
ATF raid turns fatal when suspect opens fire on police.
"...As the officers attempted to enter the home in the 26000 block of Brooks Circle, the suspect reportedly opened fire on officers with what may have been an automatic weapon..."
"...Sheriff’s SWAT team members fired tear gas and flash grenades at the house..."
"...traces of black smoke were seen. Flames followed about five minutes later..."
"...By 12:35 the upper floor of the two-story house was engulfed in flames..."
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