Three Yuba County deputies answered separate calls on the morning of Tuesday 1 August 2017 about an agitated man pulling up plants at the small Sugarleaf Rastafarian Church farm in remote Oregon House, about 55 miles north of Sacramento.[1] A resident pointed the suspect out to two of the deputies; the man fled uphill behind the farm and hid in a nearby home, whose occupants gave the deputies permission to search.[1]
The gunman opened fire on the two deputies who went inside while the third covered the back door, and the third deputy ran into the house twice to drag both wounded colleagues outside to safety.[1][2] Both deputies were airlifted to hospital in serious condition, and each was expected to recover after surgery.[1][2]
SWAT teams fired tear gas and sent in a robot before entering to find the suspect dead; the sheriff said it was not yet known whether the deputies’ return fire or his own shot had killed him.[1] He was later identified as 33-year-old Mark Anthony Sanchez, who had worked at the farm for about a month.[2] Church leader Heidi Lepp said she had called 911 after farm residents reported the newcomer, known to her only as Sawyer, ripping up plants while holding a gun, and she told the workers to leave.[1][2] The 20-to-40-acre property, where the church treats marijuana as a sacrament, held no Yuba County permit for medicinal cultivation.[1]
