A man arrested three times in September and released on bond each time is now suspected of murdering a woman and firing on law enforcement, holding an entire California foothills community hostage while deputies hunt him through the forest.
Derek Spencer, 44, was free despite charges including assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer. Now Iowa Hill residents are ordered to shelter in place, locked in their homes while an armed killer remains at large.
The Placer County Sheriff's Office says Spencer was wanted Sunday for pointing a firearm at people and other felonies. When deputies located him around 10:30 a.m., he rammed a vehicle stolen in El Dorado County into a patrol car and fled. The body of a woman shot and killed was found inside a home where Spencer had been earlier in the search. Deputies believe he shot her before running into the forest.
Spencer later fired shots at law enforcement and a sheriff's helicopter around 2 p.m. before disappearing. He is described as bald with a goatee, last seen wearing a black T-shirt.
Here is the part that matters: Sacramento County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Ed Igoe confirmed Spencer was arrested three times this month. September 3: felony vandalism, assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, and resisting arrest. September 14: burglary, by Folsom Police. September 16: stealing a vehicle. He was released on bond for the September 3 and September 16 arrests, according to KCRA. Court records show he walked out of Sacramento County Jail on September 17 — days before the murder.
The New York Post covered the lockdown and manhunt but buried the critical context — the prior arrest history that explains exactly how Spencer was free to kill. KCRA reported it straight.
A fire near Iowa Hill Road is burning unattended because crews cannot safely approach the active shooter zone. No law enforcement officers have been injured.
Spencer walked free three times in a single month despite charges that included assaulting a peace officer with a deadly weapon. A woman is dead, a town is under siege, and a fire burns unchecked. The question isn't whether law enforcement is pursuing him now — it's why the system let him walk in the first place.
