RANCHO MURIETA, CA (MPG) - A Rancho Murieta resident was arrested on three felony charges following a manhunt that caused widespread commotion in the community, after deputies responded to a reported burglary in progress just before 8:30 p.m. Aug. 31.

Sacramento County Sheriff’s public information officer Sgt. Amar Gandhi released limited details about the incident but confirmed that Randall Stoker, 62, was arrested after deputies responded to his home on Lago Drive. Gandhi stated that Stoker surrendered after about two hours and that deputies did not deploy the K-9 unit dispatched to the scene. Gandhi added that the victim suffered “non-life-threatening injuries” but declined further information.

According to the jail booking information posted on the Sheriff’s Office website, Stoker was arrested on a felony charge of corporal injury – spouse or cohabitant, felony burglary, and assault with a deadly weapon or instrument.  His bail was set at $100,000, with a court date scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Sept. 3.

After Stoker posted bail, the booking information was removed from the website, although the jail continued to acknowledge having a record for him.

The manhunt quickly spilled onto social media. It began about 8:30 p.m. Aug. 31 when a resident reported four patrol cars racing through the South Gate as a helicopter hovered overhead. Minutes later, at 8:37 p.m., Sacramento Metropolitan Fire was dispatched to a medical aid on Celebrar Drive.

Residents traded updates online about the circling helicopter and the location of patrol cars, while one post from Citizen.com claimed a “man was breaking into a house and fighting with a person inside.”

A Celebrar Drive resident confirmed the incident was across from her home and noted that neighbors in golf carts had gathered nearby to watch.

Residents later reported the helicopter circling over the north side of the community. Posts based on police scanner traffic identified the suspect as living on Lago Drive and included descriptions of his clothing, as well as two possible vehicles. As the standoff unfolded, several residents said they could hear deputies using a megaphone to order the suspect to surrender, warning that a K-9 unit would be sent in if he refused.

The last manhunt in Rancho Murieta occurred on Oct. 22, 2022, when deputies searched for a teenage robbery suspect accused of brandishing a firearm. A K-9 unit found him hiding in the bushes at Greens Park about 90 minutes later. The weapon turned out to be a replica.

The most memorable manhunt happened about 18 years ago, when the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office learned that an escaped parolee was hiding in the community.

“They brought everything out here,” recalled Gate Officer Rick Dias.

The search was later scaled back when deputies believed the parolee had fled. But a Community Services District security officer on patrol spotted the girlfriend’s car parked unusually, noticed she was crying, and asked her to open the trunk where the parolee was found curled up inside.