The Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff announced Wednesday that the March 18, 2016 death of Michael Lee Mallett of Byron has been ruled a suicide.
Sheriff-Coroner David O. Livingston announced that a Coroner’s jury on Wednesday reached a finding in the March 18, 2016 death of Michael Lee Mallett of Byron. The finding of the jury is that the death is a suicide.
Contra Costa Deputy Sheriffs were at Mallett’s home in Byron to serve an arrest warrant–a $1.15 million dollar arrest warrant was for 12 counts of child molestation.
Mallett barricaded himself in his home, armed with a firearm. After several hours of negotiations and a standoff with the Sheriff’s Office SWAT team, Mallett pointed his firearm toward Deputies who shot him. He was later pronounced deceased at the scene.
The Coroner’s jury reached a verdict after hearing the testimony of witnesses called by the hearing officer, Matt Guichard.
A Coroner’s inquest, which Sheriff-Coroner Livingston convenes in fatal incidents involving peace officers, is a public hearing, during which a jury rules on the manner of a per-son’s death. Jury members can choose from the following four options when making their finding:
- Accident
- Suicide
- Natural Causes
- At the hands of another person, other than by accident
Below is a copy of the March 2016 Press Release
On Monday (March 21), the Contra Costa County Sheriffs Office and District Attorney’s Office are continuing to investigate the officer involved shooting that occurred in Byron on Friday (March 18).
The autopsy took place Monday morning on the suspect, 49-year-old Michael Mallett. The cause of death is listed as multiple gunshot wounds.
The three Office of the Sheriff employees who discharged their firearms are:
- Sergeant Mark Johnson (hired in November 1998)
- Sergeant Shawn Welch (hired in December 2003)
- Detective Anthony Rossi (hired in October 2006)
All of them are assigned to the SWAT team.
On Thursday (March 17) at about 10:06 PM, Deputy Sheriffs went to a home on the 2700 block of Hoffman Lane in Byron to serve an arrest warrant to Mallett. The $1.15 million dollar arrest warrant was for 12 counts of child molestation. The investigating agency was the Office of the Sheriff.
On Friday, deputies made contact with the Mallett who walked out of the residence with a firearm. He refused to comply with the Deputies and went back into the home and barricaded himself. Deputies were able to evacuate other occupants in the home. Negotiators arrived on scene and began to communicate with him. Negotiations were sporadic but Mallett continually talked about not surrendering, not putting his gun down and harming himself.
The Sheriff’s Office SWAT team was called out at 3 AM as negotiations continued. Numerous announcements were made into the house for the man to surrender.
At about 9:30 AM, chemical agents were deployed into the home. Mallett came out of a window armed with a handgun. He did not comply with commands to drop the weapon. He was shot when he raised the gun at Deputies. Deputies administered life-saving measures. He was pronounced deceased at the scene by the fire department.
The officer involved fatal incident protocol was invoked.
The Office of the Sheriff Investigation Division would like to hear from anyone with any information this case. Detectives can be reached at (925) 313-2600. For any tips, please email: [email protected] or call (866) 846-3592 to leave an anonymous voice message.
1 comment
He’s a child molester. Good riddance.
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