Authorities arrest man sought for months in string of coastal burglaries, shooting at deputy
NORTH COAST, Calif. — Authorities on Thursday arrested a man who has been sought for months for his part in a series of Mendocino County burglaries and for shooting at a sheriff’s deputy.
The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said its deputies and sheriff’s K-9 took 40-year-old William Allan Evers into custody.
Evers has been the focus of searches in the areas of Elk and Albion since May, when he shot at a deputy responding to a burglary report.
Since then, there has been a continuing series of burglaries in remote areas of Mendocino County as well as sightings of Evers.
The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office had last received a report of a man believed to be Evers in an Albion resident’s vegetable garden on Aug. 30.
Then, on Wednesday morning, an Albion resident saw a man crouched down beside an outbuilding near their residence. The man, who matched Evers’ description, then ran off into the wooded terrain.
Sheriff's deputies responded and searched the area during the morning and late afternoon hours.
During the late afternoon hours, sheriff's deputies encountered Evers from a distance but he eluded them because of the terrain.
On Thursday morning, three Mendocino County Sheriff’s deputies returned to the wooded area where they encountered Evers the previous day. That area is part of the Salmon Creek Forest near a specific location commonly referred to as the "doughnut shop.”
While searching approximately 300 yards downhill from the doughnut shop, two sheriff's deputies encountered Evers, who exited brushy terrain approximately 8 feet away from them. Evers immediately noticed the presence of the sheriff's deputies and ran back into the brushy terrain from where he had appeared.
The deputies chased after Evers who was approximately 30 feet away and running at a fast pace through the wooded terrain. One of the sheriff's deputies was a sheriff's office K-9 handler and deployed his partner "Takota," who gave chase.
Takota bit onto Evers' backpack and he kicked the dog, which caused the dog to disengage momentarily. Takota was given verbal deployment commands and again gave chase to Evers, eventually knocking him to the ground with a bite to the lower leg.
Sheriff's deputies reached Evers, who was attempting to stand up to resume fleeing and wrestled him back onto the ground and into handcuffs. The foot chase lasted approximately 50 yards until Evers was restrained in handcuffs.
Evers subsequently attempted to stand and flee while sitting on the ground in handcuffs.
Evers was eventually escorted to a nearby patrol vehicle and placed into a wrap leg restraint system due to his history of noncompliance and aggressive behavior.
Officials said Evers was transported to the Sheriff's Office Ukiah Station to meet with Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office investigators, sheriff's office detectives and to be medically cleared before being booked into the Mendocino County Jail.
Evers is being held on $2.5 million bail for a charge of attempted murder, according to jail booking records.