Police identify man who died at SLO County courthouse after attempted traffic stop
Police have identified the man who died at the San Luis Obispo County courthouse after an attempted traffic stop early Sunday morning.
Richard Archuleta, a 56-year-old resident of Oceano, allegedly ran a red light at the intersection of Santa Rosa and Peach streets at around 1:17 a.m. Sunday, the San Luis Obispo Police Department said in a news release Monday.
Archuleta then pulled over near Santa Rosa and Monterey streets, police said.
Before the police officer could stop his vehicle, Archuleta got out of his car and ran toward the intersection of Monterey and Osos streets, the release said. The police officer then pursued Archuleta, police said.
After losing sight of Archuleta, the police officer called for backup, San Luis Obispo Police Department Capt. Jeff Smith told The Tribune.
Smith said that it appeared that Archuleta jumped a locked fence into the vicinity of the county courthouse. Because police did not have access to that portion of the courthouse, they surrounded the building but could not locate Archuleta, Smith said.
About 30 minutes into the search, a person walking in the area flagged down one of the officers to report a man, later determined to be Archuleta, on the ground bleeding near the east wall of the courthouse on the Santa Rosa Street side, the release said.
Archuleta had “significant injuries,” possibly related to a fall, Smith said.
Paramedics were called to the scene and Archuleta was later determined deceased at around 2:30 a.m., Smith said.
After an initial investigation, police and the county coroner determined that Archuleta had accessed the roof of the courthouse after entering the fenced area, according to police. It is unclear how Archuleta gained access to the roof.
According to San Luis Obispo County court records, Archuleta was arrested in April and charged with misdemeanor counts of evading a police officer’s vehicle, driving on a suspended license and possession of an open alcoholic container. His arraignment hearing was set for Oct. 26.
This story was originally published August 31, 2020 at 6:34 PM.
