AUBURN, CA — A 44-year-old murder suspect was killed in a shootout with Placer County sheriff’s deputies early Monday after a fast-moving manhunt through the Iowa Hill area ended in gunfire and flames. Authorities say Derek Spencer had been arrested three times in less than three weeks, including a Sept. 13 burglary arrest by Folsom police, before the violence escalated into a fatal confrontation.
Investigators say Spencer killed an adult woman before fleeing into the forested hills. Her identity had not been released Monday morning. No deputies were reported injured during the operation, which drew in multiple agencies and stretched into the early hours after a large search across steep terrain.
Three arrests in less than three weeks before the fatal encounter
Placer County sheriff’s officials said Spencer’s run of arrests began Sept. 3, when the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office booked him on suspicion of felony vandalism, assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer and resisting arrest. He was released on bond Sept. 11.
Two days later, Folsom police arrested him in connection with a burglary. He was released the same day on his own recognizance, according to the sheriff’s office. On Sept. 15, Sacramento County deputies arrested him again, this time in connection with a stolen vehicle. He was released on bond Sept. 16.
Authorities said those arrests were followed within days by fresh allegations that Spencer stole another vehicle and firearms and fired at a moving vehicle in El Dorado County on Sept. 19. By the next day, deputies were searching for him again.
How the search led deputies to the rugged Iowa Hill area
The Placer County Sheriff’s Office said Spencer was wanted on several felony allegations, including pointing a firearm at victims in Placer County. Deputies eventually tracked him to the Iowa Hill area, where they said he rammed a sheriff’s patrol vehicle and ran.
As the search widened, authorities said Spencer fired at law enforcement officers and helicopters while moving through dense forest and steep, rugged ground. Tactical teams from multiple agencies joined the operation as deputies tried to locate him in the remote area.
The sheriff’s office said the difficult terrain and darkness slowed the response and made the search especially challenging. Law enforcement remained active through the night as teams worked to close in on him.
Woman found dead inside a residence as officers cleared the area
While tactical teams were clearing a residence where Spencer had been earlier, they found an adult woman who had been shot and killed inside. Investigators believe Spencer killed her before fleeing into the surrounding forest.
Authorities had not publicly identified the woman by Monday morning, and they had not released additional details about the relationship between her and Spencer. The killing intensified an already large search and shifted the operation from a manhunt to a homicide investigation as well.
The sheriff’s office said the discovery underscored the danger posed by the situation and added urgency to the effort to locate Spencer before more people could be harmed.
Infrared aircraft, drones and tactical teams converged before sunrise
Shortly before 2:30 a.m. Monday, members of the Placer County Sheriff’s Office Special Enforcement Team moved into a heavily wooded area where authorities said Spencer was trying to hide. A California Highway Patrol aircraft equipped with infrared technology helped pinpoint his location.
Using that information, tactical teams made their way through the terrain in darkness over several hours. Drone footage later showed Spencer starting two separate fires while deputies remained in position around him, according to the sheriff’s office.
At about 4 a.m., authorities said Spencer fired again toward deputies from behind a berm. Deputies returned fire and struck him, ending the standoff. The sheriff’s office said no officers were injured.
Fire crews moved in after Spencer was shot and killed
The fires Spencer was allegedly seen starting created another hazard for responders already working in difficult ground. Once the law-enforcement threat was under control, CAL FIRE’s Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit and Placer County crews began suppressing the flames.
The sheriff’s office described the events as a dangerous crime spree that ended in tragedy for the woman who was killed. In a statement, the agency said its thoughts were with her family and called the violence senseless and random.
Officials said the overall response drew help from sheriff’s offices in Placer, El Dorado, Nevada and Washoe counties, along with CHP Air Operations, California State Parks and police departments in Roseville, Rocklin, Nevada City and Grass Valley.
Questions remain as homicide and officer-involved shooting investigations continue
The woman’s killing and the officer-involved shooting remain under investigation. Authorities had not released the woman’s identity or more details about what happened inside the residence before Spencer fled.
Spencer’s path through the region stretched across several counties in less than three weeks, with arrests and releases in Sacramento County, Folsom and again in Sacramento County before the deadly events in Placer County. Officials said the series of incidents escalated quickly once he was last seen in the Iowa Hill area.
For now, investigators are piecing together how the sequence of alleged thefts, firearms offenses and confrontations ended in a remote hillside shootout, a dead woman and a burned patch of forestland.
