Police ID K-9 Officer Who Fatally Shot Stabbing, Arson Suspect

VACAVILLE, CA — A Fairfield police officer who fatally shot a Vacaville man suspected of stabbing a woman and teenage girl and setting their Vacaville house on fire Monday night was identified Thursday as Michael Pena.

Fairfield police said Pena is a 10-year police veteran. His police canine Cort, who was stabbed multiple times by the suspect, was released from the University of California at Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital and is expected to make a full recovery, police said. Pena was placed on
administrative leave.

Pena shot Nathaniel Holland, 38, in a dense wooded creek area in the rear of 1021 Mason St. around 10:45 p.m. Monday. Holland was suspected of stabbing a 43-year-old woman and a 16-year-old girl after an argument at a residence in the 1200 block of Alderwood Way around 6:40 p.m., Vacaville police said.

Holland doused the inside of the home with gasoline, set it on fire and fled. Two boys ages 12 and 15 and a 4-year-old girl were inside the residence. The boys escaped through a rear window, and the girl was rescued from the home by one of the boys and a neighbor, Vacaville police said.

Several canine teams searched the area for Holland, and a citizen spotted him in the 1000 block of Mason Street, police said. A Fairfield K-9 team located Holland in the creek area, and Holland stabbed Cort before Pena shot him, Vacaville police said. Holland later died from his injuries.

Fairfield and Vacaville police and the Solano County District Attorney's Office are investigating the officer-involved shooting.

• PREVIOUS: Fairfield Officer Shoots, Kills Vacaville Stabbing, Arson Suspect

By Bay City News Service

Image via Shutterstock