Deputy, Texas Gunman Die in Shoot-Out

A Sacramento County sheriff’s deputy and a Texas parolee wanted on sexual assault charges were killed in a shoot-out at an apartment complex, authorities said Friday.

Sgt. Richard Deffner, 36, was shot at The Trees apartments at about 10:30 p.m. Thursday after a house-to-house search for a gunman who had eluded officers since mid-afternoon.

Spotted on the roof of the two-story building, the gunman opened fire on Deffner as he and other members of the sheriff’s special enforcement detail closed in. A bullet struck Deffner in the face, witnesses said.

Wouldn’t Drop Gun

Officers found the suspect with their lights, and he jumped off the roof. He ignored orders to drop his weapon and was gunned down, witnesses said.

“Apparently he did not drop the weapon, because they dealt with him,” a witness, who declined to give his name, told a reporter. “It’s like he wanted to die. They gave him plenty of warning.”

The suspect was identified as Kyle Lamar Brammer, 28, from Wilmer, Tex.

“Dallas County wanted him on charges of aggravated sexual assault after the abduction of a 27-year-old Dallas woman who was visiting the home of Brammer’s sister and her husband last November,” said Jim Ewell, the Dallas County sheriff’s public information officer.

Under the Influence

Brammer, who was intoxicated on drugs, used a sawed-off shotgun to abduct the woman, Ewell said. He beat his sister and brother-in-law and forced the woman to tie their hands with wire and tape their mouths shut. He then took money and jewelry from a safe at the house and abducted the woman in his brother-in-law’s car.

U.S. Marshal Clint Peoples of Dallas said Brammer was wanted on parole violation charges and on a warrant issued last Oct. 29.

Thursday’s shoot-out culminated a search that began in mid-afternoon when a deputy spotted a car matching the description of a getaway car used in several armed robberies in the area. Pursued by two officers, the suspect crashed his car into a fence and then ran.

Deffner was taken to University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. A 10-year veteran of the department, he leaves his wife, Elizabeth, an investigator at the University of Califonia, Davis, Police Department, and two children.