Man Hurt in Shoot-Out With DEA Agent Indicted

A Pacific Beach man wounded in a shoot-out with federal agents after an undercover drug purchase went awry was indicted Wednesday on charges of attempted murder and five other counts, federal prosecutors said.

Along with Richard David Gold, 32, the indictment named Michael J. Clamp, 31, also of Pacific Beach, and William B. Chambers, 30, of San Diego, who each face two drug-related charges, U.S. Atty. William Braniff said.

On Oct. 30, Gold allegedly offered to sell 4 pounds of methamphetamine for $30,000 to an undercover agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration in a parking lot on Garnet Avenue in Pacific Beach.

When agents moved to arrest Gold, he tried to escape in a car and shot at a DEA agent, Assistant U.S. Atty. D. Thomas Ferraro said, adding that the agent shot back, hitting the car window and spraying glass fragments onto Gold’s head.

Gold, previously identified as Steven S. Anderson, was taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla in serious condition with head wounds. He later was released to federal custody at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, Ferraro said.

After Gold was arrested, agents got consent from his roommate, Clamp, to search their nearby house, where a dismantled meth lab was found, Ferraro said.

While searching the house, Chambers arrived, carrying methamphetamine, Ferraro said. Agents later searched Chambers’ Clairemont house and found a dismantled meth lab, Ferraro said.

Gold was charged with conspiracy to make and possess methamphetamine, possession of the drug, use of a firearm during a drug-trafficking crime, attempted murder of a federal officer, assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon and use of a firearm during a violent crime, Ferraro said.

Clamp and Chambers were charged with conspiracy to make and possess methamphetamine and possessing meth, Ferraro said.

The three men will be formally charged today before U.S. Magistrate Irma Gonzalez.

If convicted of the drug offenses, the three could be sentenced to a maximum of life in prison and a $4-million fine, Ferraro said. A conviction on the attempted-murder charge could bring Gold another 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine, Ferraro said.