DEL NORTE COUNTY, Calif. – A man who allegedly used a Bobcat tractor to assault police in Del Norte County is behind bars.
The Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office said on December 4, they tried to contact 56-year-old Ronald Craig Berry regarding a probation violation and outstanding warrants from neighboring Curry County, Oregon. When deputies found the man at a house on Moorhead Road between Crescent City and Smith River, it became apparent he wasn’t going to go quietly. Deputies said Berry attacked them using a tractor. He then ran to his home and barricaded himself inside.
“It was then that we decided Ronald would not be able to get away today,” deputies said.
Numerous law enforcement agencies came to the scene to begin negotiations with Berry.
Deputies said that after several hours, they resorted to using tear gas in an attempt to flush him out. That didn’t work, so the home was searched. Berry wasn’t found right away and it was believed he was hiding under the house.
According to DNCSO, when Berry was eventually spotted under the home they deployed tear gas, bean bag rounds, and pepper balls. Still, he refused to surrender.
Deputies then cut power to the house and cut a hole through the living room floor.
Now that Berry could be seen better, he decided it was time to surrender. “Not today Ronald, not today,” DNCSO said on a Facbook post about the incident.
Berry was booked at the Del Norte County Jail on numerous charges including assault with a deadly weapon.
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