Crime & Safety
Autopsy Indicates Shootout Suspect Likely Died From Collision Injuries
The autopsy of Jose Villasenor Cervantes, who exchanged gunfire with sheriff's deputies Monday, was conducted by the Marin County coroner.
SONOMA COUNTY, CA — A Santa Rosa man wounded in a shootout with Sonoma County Sheriff's deputies probably died of injuries from a car crash after he attempted to flee, according to preliminary autopsy results.
Jose Luis Villasenor Cervantes, 53, exchanged gunfire with deputies early Monday before and after trying to flee in his car, which crashed.
While Cervantes suffered gunshot wounds, they were survivable — but injuries from the crash were not, Santa Rosa police said Friday, citing an autopsy by the Marin County Coroner's Office.
Lethal injuries to the heart and the body's largest vein were "both caused by blunt-force trauma to the chest likely caused by the impact of the collision," police said.
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The official cause of Cervantes' death is pending the outcome of drug tests.
Four sheriff's deputies were injured, one seriously, following an early morning pursuit after a man with a rifle fired at deputies in unincorporated Santa Rosa, police said.
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The Santa Rosa Police Department has been conducting an independent investigation because it was possible that the death was caused by police shooting.
The episode began about 12:10 a.m. when deputies were alerted to a man brandishing a firearm outside La Hacienda del Toro, a restaurant and nightclub at 3660 Stony Point Road, police said.
The gunman led deputies on a pursuit which ended in a head-on collision with a sheriff's vehicle in the 3200 block of Stoney Point Road. A deputy fired numerous shots at Cervantes following the collision, police said.
Cervantes was pulled from his vehicle and declared dead about 12:30 a.m.
Police estimated that Cervantes fired a minimum of 50 rounds from an AK-47 at numerous deputies.
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- Details Emerge In Shootout, Chase That Left Man Dead, Deputies Wounded
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