By Kim Minugh and Cathy Locke
kminugh@sacbee.com
A 47-year-old man killed himself outside a Carmichael home shortly before 9 p.m. Thursday following a standoff with Sacramento County sheriff's deputies.
Sheriff's Sgt. Tim Curran said the man had holed up alone in a garage on Richon Vista Court, off Walnut Avenue. Negotiators and SWAT team members had been trying to coax him out since the incident began about 5:15 p.m.
When officers fired tear gas into the garage, the man went into a side yard. Negotiators continued to try to talk him into surrendering but were unable to do so, Curran said.
The man, whose name has not been released, was wanted in Louisiana on charges of child molestation, Curran said. He was alone inside the garage with a rifle. Curran said the man did not threaten to hurt anyone else, including deputies, and no one else was injured.
Louisiana authorities had contacted the state Department of Justice, asking agents to arrest the man on their warrant. DOJ officials asked sheriff's patrol deputies for assistance, and they went as a group to the Richon Vista duplex where the man had been staying with family since March, Curran said.
When they arrived, residents of the home confirmed the man was there and directed authorities to the garage. They found the man armed with a rifle and backed away, Curran said.
Authorities evacuated the residents of that duplex and two adjacent units, displacing about 10 people, Curran said.
The man lived in Louisiana at some point and has "extensive criminal history" there, but has been a resident in California since 2004, Curran said.
He did not know when the alleged child molestation occurred, and would not elaborate on the man's history.
Call The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038.
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