Deadly Iowa Hill shootout: What we know about the gunman deputies killed in standoff

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    IOWA HILL, California (KCRA) — Placer County deputies fatally shot a man in an hourslong standoff after he killed a 76-year-old woman, officials said.

Derek Spencer, 44, had been arrested multiple times in the weeks leading up to the early Monday morning shootout that lasted for hours before he died, according to the Placer County Sheriff’s Office.

The investigation includes the death of Cheryl Macy and a nearby fire that complicated the crime scene.

Below is what we know about the events leading up to the shootout.

Placer County Sheriff Wayne Woo spoke of Spencer’s recent arrests in a news conference hours after the gunbattle.

Derek Spencer was arrested three times in 13 days in Sacramento County on charges including vandalism, burglary, and vehicle theft, but was released from custody after each arrest.

Court records obtained by KCRA 3 show he was released from the Sacramento County Jail on Sept. 17.

Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office Spokesperson Ed Igoe confirmed Spencer has been booked three times this month:

Once by the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office for felony vandalism, assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer and resisting arrest. (Sept. 3)
Once by the Folsom Police Department for burglary (Sept. 14)
Once by the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office for stealing a vehicle (Sept. 16)

Spencer was released on bond for the sheriff’s office arrests on Sept. 11 and Sept. 17. Folsom police arrested him for burglary, and a judge granted him pre-arraignment release on his own recognizance following his arrest in Folsom.

Spencer was arraigned for his first arrest on Sept. 8, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office. Prosecutors said they argued for him to remain in custody after a bail was set by a judge that same day.

After his release on Sept. 11, Spencer had a preliminary set for Sept. 18 for his arrest, but he did not show up, leading the court to issue a warrant for his failure to appear.

He was scheduled to be arraigned for the Folsom arrest on Sept. 21. His arraignment for the third arrest was supposed to happen on Sept. 23. The DA’s office said prosecutors were in the process of reviewing both arrest reports for a filing decision.

“There’s literally nothing we can do. It’s ultimately up to a judge,” said Sgt. Edward Igoe of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office.

Igoe elaborated on the process, saying, “Realistically, once we have the ability to make a probable cause arrest, it goes off on the courts at that point. It is up to a judge to determine whether or not he’s going to be held or whether or not he’s going to have the opportunity to be released. Ultimately, it’s up to the courts what happens with him after he’s booked.”

Sacramento County prosecutors blame said judges have limited ability to detain repeat offenders before trial, even if they pose a danger under the Kowalczyk ruling that was made in April.

Woo said investigators did not know about Spencer’s recent arrests until after they had identified him on Sunday afternoon. He described his frustration and believes Macy’s death could have been preventable.

Spencer was from the Sacramento area, Woo said, saying he was likely from Fair Oaks.

The difficulty of predicting whether someone released from custody could pose a future danger was highlighted by attorney Mark Reichel.

“There’s no real exact science to determining whether somebody is going to be a threat again. You look at it, if they make their court appearance, has ties to the community, and it’s real difficult to determine how dangerous they’ll be in the future,” Reichel said.

Spencer was first wanted after pointing a firearm at people in Placer County. Woo said that deputies located Spencer around 10:30 a.m. Sunday. However, Spencer rammed their patrol vehicle with enough force to disable it, preventing deputies from being able to give chase.

Woo said the vehicle Spencer used was stolen during an armed carjacking in El Dorado County on Saturday.

While searching for Spencer, investigators found a woman, later identified as Macy, who had been shot and killed inside a home. Woo said Spencer had shot Macy before running into the forest. It’s believed the two did not know each other.

Around 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Woo said Spencer had shot at law enforcement and a sheriff’s office helicopter before he fled again. Using helicopter infrared technology, deputies found Spencer around 2 a.m. Monday.

For about two hours, Woo said deputies exchanged gunfire with Spencer along Iowa Hill Road and Grand View Avenue, and the gunbattle would not end until 4:30 a.m., with his death.

Investigators recovered a handgun and a rifle after the shootout, Woo said. Eight different SWAT teams responded to this, including from Mono and Inyo counties. No deputies were injured. Details were also not released on how many deputies fired their weapons.

Woo said a nearby fire made the situation more difficult not only for deputies but also for firefighters.

Fire personnel could not immediately battle the Mineral Fire because of how close the standoff was. Woo said once Spencer died, crews were able to move in.

Cal Fire also noted that firefighters were not able to fight the fire until the situation was resolved.

While Woo did not directly say the name of the fire Spencer started, he acknowledged that Spencer started a fire in the area of the standoff. LiveCopter 3 spotted smoke near the crime scene.

After Spencer died, Woo said that a helicopter had to hoist his body because of how close the flames were.

For those who knew Spencer, his recent arrests and behavior were unexpected.

“It seems like something else was going on with him. It wasn’t Derek. It’s not the Derek that any of us knew,” said Sam Bruno, who said he had known Spencer for two decades.

Bruno added, “I know a lot of things have come out about recent arrests. I had no idea about any of those. I never would’ve thought any of those charges would have been something he would have done. That shocked me just as much as everything else going on was the rest of the last month or so.”

Macy was a former employee for the Placer County District Attorney’s Office, officials confirmed Monday night. She worked for the office from 2006 to 2020.

Her position with the office did not confirm what her position was.

Family says Macy’s birthday was Sept. 19, a day before her body was found during an investigation.

A loved one told KCRA 3 she still had birthday presents that she never got to open.

KCRA 3 spoke with a man who has lived in Iowa Hill for three decades. He said what happened to Macy, his neighbor, is a shame and said a lot of people in the area are very upset knowing it happened after Spencer was released from jail three times in the last month.

“She didn’t need to die like that. There’s no reason for it, you know?” Dave said.

He described some of what he saw and heard during the hours-long search and shootout.

“The helicopter is going to about treetop level right down this canyon right here. And you heard about pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop and then that was it,” he said.

He also described what the community of Iowa Hill is like.

“Our neighbors are a couple of miles apart. Yeah. And we all know each other and. Yeah, that’s true, we may not get along with everybody, but, you wanna know something? When something happens, everybody is there. Even what you may think your enemy is, or you’re not such good friends. They’re there to help you. Everybody helps everybody up here,” he said.

He said the response from law enforcement was significant, but he just wishes it was all resolved sooner.

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