VALLEJO, Calif. — A California man was shot and killed by police in what investigators described Monday as a naked rampage involving two men who broke car windows and set their rented house on fire.
Jeremiah Moore, 29, was killed early Sunday after putting a loaded rifle to an officer’s stomach, Vallejo police Lt. Lee Horton said.
Investigators suspect Moore and 28-year-old Jason Jessie may have been taking hallucinogenic drugs, Horton said. Results from toxicology tests were pending.
Jessie was arrested on suspicion of battery on a police officer and obstructing an officer. He was being held in the Solano County jail on $10,000 bail.
Family and friends said the alleged behavior was out of character for the men.
Moore’s mother, Lisa Moore said her son, the eldest of three children, had Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism, and had never been a drug addict.
“He was happy,” she said. “He had done well for himself.”
Officers reported seeing one naked man running into the smoke-filled home. When they followed, Moore pointed the rifle at an officer whose partner opened fire, Horton said.
Moore was pronounced dead at a hospital.
The officers were placed on paid leave, which is standard procedure after such incidents, Horton said.
The fire destroyed as much as 40 percent of the house, with estimated damage around $60,000, Vallejo Fire Battalion Chief Ray Jackson told the Vallejo Times Herald. The cause of the fire was under investigation.
Jeremiah Moore was a steam pipe fitter and had recently become a journeyman in his union. He moved into the rental home with Jessie—with whom he was having a relationship—more than a year ago, Lisa Moore said.
Courtney Thomas, who owns the home, said the men loved collecting old Mercedes cars, gardening and refurbishing antiques for resale.
“They were great; they were here for a little over two years, took care of the house, had no complaints, took care of the yard, paid their rent on time, just normal people,” Thomas said.
The couple might have been planning to hold a garden party on Sunday, friends said.
So far this year, Vallejo has had 10 officer-involved shootings, with six fatalities.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press