News

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office has identified the three officers who fired their guns in an April 18 shooting in Eureka that left two suspects in critical conditions.

The shooting came after a report of an armed robbery at the Bayshore Mall led to a police pursuit that ended when the suspect vehicle crashed at the intersection of Harris and Dolbeer streets in Eureka, at which point the suspects — Brandon and Jess Widmark, 27 and 18, respectively — allegedly got out of their car with rifles in hand. Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal said investigators believe at least one shot was fired at deputies, three of whom fired at the suspects.

A month after the shooting — and after numerous requests from the Journal seeking the identities of the officers who fired their weapons in the exchange, how many shots they fired and how many times the suspects were hit — the sheriff’s office responded to a public records act request yesterday, disclosing the names of the officers involved. They were identified as Sgt. Conan Moore, who’s been with the department 14 years, deputy Chad Crotty, a six-year veteran of the department, and deputy Luke Mathieson, who’s been with the department 10 years.

The sheriff’s office declined to release how many shots were fired in the exchange and how many times the suspects were shot because “this is still an active, multi-faceted investigation.”

Meanwhile, the Eureka Police Department, which is leading the multi-agency Critical Incident Response Team investigation into the shooting, sent out a press release this morning noting that Brandon Widmark was discharged from a local hospital and booked into jail yesterday on suspicion of the attempted murder of a police officer, brandishing a firearm in the presence of an officer, robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, child endangerment, felony hit and run, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Jesse Widmark was booked into the jail May 10 following his discharge from the hospital on suspicion of the attempted murder of a police officer, brandishing a firearm in the presence of an officer, felony resisting arrest, robbery, assault with a deadly weapon and child endangerment.