OLIVEHURST – The suspect in a shootout that killed a Marysville police officer was a "lower-level dealer" targeted during a search warrant into a transnational drug trafficking operation investigation, authorities said on Friday.
Marysville police officer Osmar Rodarte was shot and killed while serving a search warrant at a home on Kestrel Court in Olivehurst on Wednesday.
Authorities said the suspect, Rick David Oliver, was one target of 20 search warrants in a multi-year transnational drug trafficking operation investigation.
While serving a warrant at the home on Kestrel Court, Yuba County District Attorney Clint Curry said Oliver "ambushed officers" who made entry into the home. Curry said Oliver shot Rodarte, who later died at the hospital.
Rodarte and another officer returned fire, killing Oliver, Curry said.
Curry said Oliver was a "low-level dealer" in the area and was a registered sex offender with previous convictions such as soliciting lewd acts in public, indecent exposure and unlawful sex with a minor.
Oliver also had a history of drug offenses, not showing up in court and could not possess a gun due to the fact he was a felon.
The Yuba Sutter Narcotic and Gang Enforcement Task Force, which partnered with the United States Drug Enforcement Agency, has led the investigation into the transnational drug trafficking organization for years.
Curry said investigators revealed a group of family members has moved hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds of methamphetamine, fentanyl and other drugs from Mexico into California. The family members who imported the drugs, who were not identified, then sold the drugs to street-level drug dealers throughout Northern California, Curry said.
While serving the 20 search warrants on Wednesday throughout Yuba, Sutter, Tehama and Butte counties, officers reported finding two clandestine drug labs. The operation resulted in the seizure of nearly seven pounds of methamphetamine, 14 fentanyl pills, a quarter pound of cocaine, 17 pounds of marijuana and six guns, Curry said. They also found and seized ammunition, scales and other packaging commonly used in drug sales.
Curry said the drug seizures were lower than anticipated. Curry added that sources close to the investigation said that members of the drug trafficking organization complained about a shortage of drugs caused by an increase in security at the border.
Wednesday's operation led to 20 arrests, which brought the investigation's total to 45 arrests.
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