David Morales, Porterville, California tenant shoots & kills Randy Hoppert Sheriff’s Deputy with the Tulare County office during eviction notice standoff after tenant refusing to obey final eviction notice and opening fire on officers who’d come to serve him.
A Tulare County sheriff’s deputy was shot and killed Thursday while assisting with an eviction notice in Porterville, leading to an hours-long standoff that ended with the death of the suspected gunman tenant some eight hours later, California authorities said.
Detective Randy Hoppert, 35, a six-year veteran of the department was killed at the hands of 60-year-old tenant, David Morales, after deputies had arrived earlier that morning to serve a final eviction notice. Except Morales wasn’t budging and intended to fight the order to vacate.
Tulare County sheriff’s deputy killed during the line of duty
Hoppert was among a group of deputies who had arrived at the residence following calls for assistance after an initial effort to affect a tenant’s eviction near Brian Avenue and North Salisbury Street around 10:20 a.m. led to the tenant resident opening gunfire at dispensing officers.
Morales who refused to vacate the property allegedly opened fire with a high-powered rifle, striking Hoppert as deputies came under heavy gunfire, Sheriff Mike Boudreaux told reporters. A tactical team rescued the wounded detective and rushed him to Sierra View Medical Center in Porterville, where he was pronounced dead just on 11.30 a.m the sheriff said.
Morales barricaded himself inside the home, continuing to fire intermittently at law enforcement during a standoff that stretched for hours and drew SWAT teams and armored vehicles to the neighborhood. Authorities described him as armed and extremely dangerous as they urged residents to shelter in place.
Shooter suspect dies after run over by SWAT vehicle
The confrontation ended later Thursday when law enforcement officers engaged Morales and he was killed, Sheriff Boudreaux said. Morales reportedly died after being run over by one of four Kern County SWAT BearCat vehicles that had descended to the scene the LA Times reported.
‘The suspect is now dead,’ Sheriff Boudreaux said. ‘He was not shot. One of our [armored vehicles] ran over him and killed him.’
Asked if the officers had intentionally run over the suspect, Boudreaux said they had.
‘We intentionally ran him over,’ he said. ‘Don’t shoot at cops. You shoot at cops, we’re going to run you over. He got run over. He got what he deserved.’
Boudreaux said the suspect was wearing camouflage clothing and had been shooting at officers as he moved among three homes. He said officers in the armored vehicle were searching an area where they believed he was hiding when they ran him over. The suspect had initially barricaded himself inside his home.
Porterville eviction standoff leads to tenant death
The shooting prompted authorities to clear out four blocks of the neighborhood. The Porterville Unified School District also issued lockdowns for three of its schools, including Westfield Elementary, Sequoia Middle School and Monache High School.
Boudreaux said negotiators were at the scene trying to communicate with the suspect. He said family members were also trying to talk to him.
‘We wanted him to come out peacefully, but he pushed back against that,’ the sheriff said. ‘He was in camouflage clothing and continued shooting at officers to the point that he shot and killed one of our own. He created this.’
Porterville tenant owned cache of weapons
Morales according to the sheriff had no prior criminal history and had 18 firearms registered to his name. The sheriff said most of those weapons were handguns and did not include the high-powered rifle he was using to shoot down a law enforcement drone and to shoot at officers.
Hoppert, a U.S. Navy veteran who served between 2010 and 2015, joined the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office in 2020. He leaves behind a wife who is four months pregnant, Sheriff Boudreaux said, as well as other young children.
‘We lost a hero today,’ the sheriff told reporters.
Adding, ‘What started out as a civil matter is now a homicide investigation.’
The California Department of Justice is expected to investigate the deputy-involved shooting, and officials said more information would be released as the inquiry continues.
