Shooting at Arroyo Grande home ended in suspect’s suicide, police chiefs say
A drug-related shooting in Arroyo Grande ended with the suspect’s suicide, the Arroyo Grande and Pismo Beach police departments determined.
On the evening of April 11, a 41-year-old man shot a 39-year-old man three times at a home in the 100 block of Pine Street, Arroyo Grande Police Chief Beau Pryor said Thursday.
The suspect then drove the victim to a local hospital and dropped him off, Pryor said. The victim, who was shot three times in the arm and upper torso, is recovering at the hospital, he said.
Pryor said the two men were “long-term friends” and known by police to be “drug users together.”
While at the hospital, the alleged victim was uncooperative and told different “crazy” versions of what happened, Pryor said. A detective submitted a request to a judge for night service on a search warrant to search the residence, the police chief said.
Though Pryor would not disclose specific details on the investigation, he said searches of cell phones offered “clarity” on the case.
A be-on-the-lookout was issued to local authorities at 3 a.m. Sunday, Pryor said.
A few hours later, the Pismo Beach Police Department notified Arroyo Grande investigators that a person “deceased by suspected suicide” was identified as the 41-year-old suspect, Pryor said.
On Thursday morning, Pismo Beach Police Chief Jake Miller confirmed the dead man’s connection to the Arroyo Grande investigation, but he did not immediately respond to followup questions about the man’s identity or cause of death.
Because the 39-year-old man is a victim of a crime, Pryor said, the department is not releasing his identity. That department’s investigation is closed, he added.
Though local police agencies usually issue news releases on shooting incidents resulting in injuries or death, Pryor said sensitivity issues regarding suicide — combined with the victim’s lack of cooperation and a lack of media interest at the time — ultimately led him and Miller to decide to forgo a news release about the incident.
