Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer’s murder weapon was discovered in the residence of the 29-year-old Palmdale man who confessed to the crime, according to sources with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
On Monday, Kevin Cataneo Salazar was apprehended after an hours-long confrontation with the Special Enforcement Bureau. According to LASD officials involved with the inquiry, the suspect had a 22-caliber handgun and casings in his possession at his home on the 37700 block of Barrinson Street in Palmdale.
This gun matched the one used to assassinate Clinkunbroomer, according to LASD sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not permitted to discuss it publicly.
Investigators discovered “numerous firearms” and the dark gray Toyota Carolla, believed to be the vehicle used in the Saturday shooting, at Salazar’s apartment, Sheriff Robert Luna said at a news conference on Monday.
Luna stated that on Sunday afternoon, investigators obtained information that led them to the suspect. “Community members came forward with information, which enabled homicide detectives to identify the suspect and the vehicle used in the murder of Deputy Clinkunbroomer.”
Clinkunbroomer, a 30-year-old Santa Clarita Valley resident, was in uniform and driving his marked patrol vehicle at 6 p.m. Saturday when a good Samaritan discovered him unconscious and in medical trouble outside the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station. The deputy was taken to a local hospital, where he died later that night.
Read More:
- This California city has been named the most Miserable in the state
- An NYPD detective arrested for assault in a domestic dispute with his wife at at SI home
