Manhunt Ends with Two Arrests in Siskiyou County
SISKIYOU COUNTY, CA — “At approximately 6:15 am on Tuesday December 9th, a Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Deputy approached a blue pickup idling near Upland Road and Eddy Drive outside the city limits of Mount Shasta, California. When the Deputy reached the truck, he noticed two individuals passed out inside and what appeared to be stolen property in the truck bed. The Deputy then awoke both individuals, who verbally identified themselves as Stephen Robles, 36, and Leanne Varao, 35 of McCloud. The Deputy recognized Robles from prior law enforcement contacts. At the time of this incident, Robles was unlicensed, on parole for Second Degree Murder and on probation for Assault with a Deadly Weapon and Reckless Driving.
During this interaction, Robles abruptly drove away at a high speed, and the Deputy initiated a pursuit. As the vehicle approached Old McCloud Road, the Deputy saw the muzzle of a shotgun appear in the rear window of the pickup truck, firing twice and striking the patrol vehicle. The Deputy was fired upon a second time when the vehicles reached Mount Shasta Boulevard and again when they reached Highway 89. At this time, it was not clear to the Deputy whether Robles or Varao was the shooter. The Deputy was shot at a fourth and final instance when the pickup truck turned onto Broadway Avenue in McCloud, and disappeared from view.
A nearby resident indicated where the suspects had gone, and the Deputy located the blue pickup truck abandoned further down Broadway Avenue, indicating the suspects had fled on foot. By this time, additional California Highway Patrol and Siskiyou County Sheriff’s patrol units arrived to secure and maintain a perimeter of the area. The Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office Special Response team, K9 Unit, and Drone team were deployed to locate both suspects. An alert was sent to the McCloud community notifying them of the incident and to shelter in place.
At approximately 7:00 pm Tuesday night, after a continuous search, Deputies located Robles in the second floor of a garage on Minnesota Avenue, and he was taken into custody. The following afternoon, on Wednesday, December 10th, investigators received information that Varao was hiding in another residence on Minnesota Avenue. When law enforcement arrived at the residence at approximately 2:45 pm, Varao surrendered and was taken into custody.
Robles was charged with Attempted Murder, Reckless Driving/Felony Evasion of a Peace Officer, Receiving Stolen Property, and Knowingly Bringing Controlled Substances into Jail. Varao was charged with Receiving Stolen Property. The stolen property recovered in Robles’ vehicle was returned to the owner by investigators. In response to their apprehension, Sheriff LaRue said in a statement:
‘I am immensely proud of my team and our partner agencies for their excellent work on this case. I also want to say a special ‘thank you’ to the community of McCloud for helping us. I’m further grateful my deputy was not physically injured when he was shot at by Robles, and hope that justice prevails. This case was yet another dangerous example of how the broken criminal justice system in California allows habitually violent offenders to freely roam the streets and continue to endanger the lives of others.’
If you have any information related to this incident, please contact the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office at (530) 841-2900, or file an online report via our website. For media inquiries, call our Public Information Officer at (530) 598-1647.”
