SACRAMENTO—A Sacramento man was arrested Thursday, September 10, and charged with three felonies following a standoff with police in Rancho Cordova.
Sacramento County Sheriff’s deputies shot one man and detained another man wielding a machine gun in a Rancho Cordova neighborhood on the 2400 block of Negrara Way at approximately 2:15 pm on Thursday.
“The initial call states that a guy was outside just shooting a machine gun off,” said Sgt. Jason Ramos of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department. “Not at any particular person, but just shooting a machine gun off outside of a house.”
A witness to the incident, Kevin Norris told KCRA News “He was shooting at the house across the street, and he let off about 100 rounds before the cops got there.”
When officials arrived, they heard shots ringing out from within the neighborhood, possibly from two different areas. The shots prompted area schools to be locked down.
The shooting suspect, Ben Franklin Ledford, 62, barricaded himself inside a home, but surrendered two hours later after a heavy response from SWAT and negotiators.
He has been charged with assault with a machine gun, discharging a firearm in a grossly negligent manner and cruelty to animals. Officers found a deceased dog across from the residence, which appears to have been the target of his gunfire. It is not clear if Ledford was staying or visiting at the location of the shooting, as he reported his permanent address as a home in Antelope, about 12 miles away in northeast Sacramento County.
Deputies initially detained two neighbors, and had shot one of them after seeing what appeared to be a gun in his hand when they responded to the scene, the sheriff’s department said in a release.
One of the men was taken into custody, but deputies are still investigating what criminal charges, if any, that man may face. The man was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. The extent of his injuries was not released.
Ledford is being held on $1 million bail.
Read/View more: KCRA TV
Update: It was later reported that the other man shot was Danny Sanchez, who had been attempting to film the incident with his cell phone video camera. After he was shot by the deputy, he was sent to the UC Davis Medical Center for treatment of his wounds. When Sanchez held out his arm with an object in it, the deputies and SWAT team viewed it as another gunman. the Sheriff’s Department confirmed that he would not be facing criminal charges.
