Man Pleads Guilty to Role in Shootout
A Long Beach man faces more than 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to his role in a November shootout with an Orange County sheriff’s deputy that was followed by a massive manhunt in Huntington Beach.
Travis Claude, 19, pleaded guilty Monday to attempted second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit a robbery, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Jim Tanizaki. Two other defendants, Keith Gonzalez, 19, and Aerick Bacon, 18, who have pleaded not guilty, face trial later this year in connection with the shootout.
Tanizaki said Claude was the least culpable of the three and there is no evidence to indicate he fired a weapon during the Nov. 7 incident.
The shootout took place at the Bolsa Chica Ecological Preserve when the teens suddenly opened fire on a deputy who allegedly discovered them as they were planning a robbery, police said. The assailants then fled to a nearby Huntington Beach condominium complex, where they hid for several hours before they were arrested. One resident was shot twice in the leg by one of the gunmen.
A fourth suspect, Ryan Mones, 17, committed suicide the night of the incident rather than face arrest, officials have said.
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