The incident led to a daylong search of the Lower Lake area and lockdowns at local schools that lasted for about three hours Monday morning, according to Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
Bauman said the two males suspects in the incident are still at large and should be considered armed and dangerous.
Both are described as black male adults. One is between 5 feet 6 inches and 5 feet 10 inches tall, with short, wavy hair, wearing a black beanie and all black clothing with several tattoos about the arms. The second man had braided hair, was wearing a black beanie and gray sweatshirt, and was possibly armed with a .40-caliber semi-automatic handgun.
The suspects allegedly broke into a home where they confronted Dustin Lee Wilson, 33, of Clearlake, the son of local businesswoman and council candidate Jeri Spittler, and Michelle Truong, 27, of Hercules.
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Wilson and Truong had been taken into custody on Oct. 22 for drug and weapons charges after a traffic stop in Middletown. A California Highway Patrol officer found them in possession of more than 2 pounds of processed marijuana and a handgun with two loaded magazines, the CHP reported.
Wilson also had been arrested by Clearlake Police on Oct. 16 for several felony drug charges and for attempting to bribe an officer, according to jail records.
Bauman said sheriff’s deputies responded to the Morgan Valley Road residence at around 8 a.m. on a report of a possible home invasion with shots fired. Units from the California Highway Patrol and the Clearlake Police Department also responded to assist.
When the first deputies arrived, Bauman said they found Wilson on the side of Morgan Valley Road, wearing only a pair of sweat pants with a bleeding arm that had suffered minor cuts when Wilson had run through a barbed wire fence while fleeing the home.
Wilson told deputies that he and Truong were asleep inside her home when they were awakened by two unidentified men, one of which had a gun to Wilson’s head, according to Bauman.
A struggle ensued between Wilson and the man with the gun, while Truong struggled with the second suspect, Bauman said. At some point, both suspects converged on Truong and Wilson fled the home as one of the men fired several shots at him from the front porch.
Wilson, who wasn't hit by the gunfire, went to the home of a neighbor, who called 911 after hearing the shots and seeing Wilson running to her house, Bauman said.
Bauman said Wilson told deputies he believed Truong, and possibly his 10-year-old son, were being held hostage in the home by the men.
During the ensuing 45 minutes, law enforcement secured a perimeter in the area and contacted outside agencies seeking air support, Bauman said. Lt. Brian Martin had told Lake County News earlier in the day that weather had prevented the sheriff's office from getting a helicopter from Sonoma County.
The sheriff's SWAT team also was called out, Bauman said.
Bauman said officials also notified area schools at around 8 a.m. to lock down their campuses – schools would be in lockdown until just before 11 a.m.
The schools closed down were Lower Lake Elementary, Lower Lake High School, Carlé Continuation High School and Lewis Alternative School, as Lake County News has reported.
When a call was made into the home, Bauman said Truong exited the residence and told deputies the men were gone. Deputies then entered the home and verified the suspects were in fact gone and the SWAT team was canceled.
Bauman said deputies later learned that Wilson’s son had already gone to school when the suspects entered the home.
Truong told deputies that after Wilson fled, the two men forced her into a bathroom and closed the door. She heard the men rummaging through things in the house, and then heard her vehicle start up and drive down her driveway, Bauman said. When she came out of the bathroom, she saw one of the men running from the home towards the back of the property.
Truong apparently remained in the home, not knowing where the suspects were, until the call was made into the home and deputies had her step out, Bauman said.
He said it appeared Truong's car keys were taken from the home along with some other unidentified property. Deputies located her car with the trunk open at the bottom of her approximate 200 yard driveway, abandoned at a locked gate.
Tire tracks and other items of evidence were located on a road in the back of the property. Bauman said it looked like one of the suspects tried to flee in Truong’s car until coming to the locked gate, and then presumably abandoned the car and fled on foot.
Investigators believe the other suspect fled to the back of the property and presumably drove away in the vehicle used to get to the house, Bauman said.
Deputies conducted an extensive search of the area for about five hours but were unable to locate either suspect, Bauman said.
Crime scene technicians were called in and processed the scene for evidence until about 3 p.m., according to Bauman.
He said the investigation is continuing into the home invasion, with officials looking at the motive and whether or not the victims and suspects may have been acquainted.
Anyone with information about the incident or the possible location and identities of the suspects is encouraged to call the Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit at 707-262-4200.
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