Deputies Shoot and Kill Man in Guerneville; Petaluma PD Will Investigate

By Bay City News Service

A man died after exchanging gunfire with Sonoma County sheriff's deputies at a Guerneville resort late Monday night, a sheriff's sergeant said. 

At about 11 p.m. Monday, the sheriff's office received a call from a woman at the Riverlane Resort, located across the street from the Guerneville sheriff's substation, stating that her husband was suicidal and threatening to kill her, Sgt. Carlos Basurto said. 

The dispatcher told the woman to leave the resort and come across the street, and she showed up at the substation about a minute later with her 30-year-old daughter, Basurto said. 

She told deputies that her husband, 59-year-old Wayne Courtright, was armed with a rifle and was intoxicated and suicidal, according to the sheriff's office.

Deputies headed across the street and set up a perimeter around the main house on the property, and about 20 minutes later heard shots fired inside the home, sheriff's officials said. 

The sheriff's Special Operations Unit was dispatched to the scene, and at about midnight, Courtright came out of the home with a high-powered rifle and started shooting at deputies, Basurto said. 

The deputies returned fire and Courtright "went down," according to the sheriff's office. He was pronounced dead at the scene. 

Basurto said Courtright was shot at least once but it has not been determined whether any of his wounds were self-inflicted. 

The shooting will be investigated by the Petaluma Police Department and the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office. The deputies involved have been placed on administrative leave, as is protocol. 

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