Sacramento County sheriff’s robot locates suspect who shot deputy in the face during fight

A gunman who attacked and shot a Sacramento County sheriff’s deputy in the face at a transit station has been captured after a door-to-door search at a nearby Red Roof Inn, authorities said Wednesday.

The deputy, identified as Alex Ladwig, is a four-year member of the force who had surgery to his jaw and face and is now in stable condition, Sgt. Tony Turnbull said.

The incident began about 6 p.m. Tuesday at a light-rail station at Watt Avenue and Interstate 80, where the deputy reported that he was in a fight with a person. Shortly thereafter, he reported that shots had been fired, Turnbull said.

Ladwig had approached the man, who responded by attacking the deputy, Turnbull said. The gunman then fired twice, hitting Ladwig once in the face, Turnbull said.

The deputy radioed that he’d been shot, which brought law enforcement swarming into the area as a helicopter overhead searched for the shooter. The chopper quickly spotted and tracked the suspect as he escaped to the Red Roof Inn & Suites on Watt Avenue, Turnbull said.

Police surrounded the hotel, established a perimeter and evacuated nearby businesses.

“Our search for the suspect is going to be methodical,” Turnbull said as the manhunt began Tuesday evening. “It’s a fairly dynamic situation — it’s a large building with multiple occupants and multiple doors.”

Hotel guests were evacuated room by room until 9:15 p.m., when the shooter was found lying in a fetal position in an outdoor hallway on the second floor by the department’s special enforcement detail’s robot, Turnbull said. A negotiator communicated with the suspect through the robot’s speaker and eventually convinced the man to surrender, Turnbull said.

The suspect was identified Wednesday morning as Nicory Marquies Spann, 27, of Sacramento. He was booked on suspicion of attempted murder on a peace officer and is being held without bail. He’s due in court Friday.

Authorities have not found the gun used by the suspect, Turnbull said.

Turnbull added that Ladwig was a member of the sheriff’s unit that polices the Sacramento Regional Transit light rail and was working overtime when the shooting occurred.

matt.hamilton@latimes.com

Twitter: @MattHjourno

UPDATES:

11:15 a.m.: This article was updated with the identities of the deputy and suspect.

6:25 a.m., June 28: This article was updated with the suspect taken into custody and the deputy out of surgery.

This article was originally published at 8:20 p.m. Tuesday, June 27.