A former Sacramento County sheriff’s deputy was shot and killed by law enforcement on Monday after allegedly stabbing his 11-year-old son to death and fleeing the scene, prompting a high-speed freeway pursuit, authorities said.
According to investigators, the child’s mother called 911 after witnessing the stabbing in real time through a home security camera feed. Police identified the suspect as Marvin Morales, who resigned from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office earlier this year following an internal investigation into drug use on duty.
After the stabbing, Morales fled the residence. Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper, who happened to be driving to work at the time, spotted a vehicle matching the description and immediately relayed the location to responding units. Deputies and the California Highway Patrol initiated a pursuit that reached speeds of up to 100 mph.
CHP deployed spike strips, causing Morales to crash. When he exited the vehicle, two Sacramento County deputies opened fire, fatally striking him. Officials have not yet released further details on the confrontation that led to gunfire.
Morales resigned from the department in February 2024 after investigators found he had seized narcotics from a suspect and later smoked the drugs inside a sheriff’s station bathroom. He believed he was consuming methamphetamine but instead overdosed on fentanyl, according to documents from the internal probe.
The case remains under active investigation by local authorities and the county’s critical-incident review team.
