Suspect accused of shooting at Sacramento deputies during Fair Oaks standoff appears in court

A man who was taken into custody after reportedly shooting at Sacramento County sheriff’s deputies Friday in a hours-long standoff in Fair Oaks made his first court appearance Tuesday.

Eric Oneal Smith Jr., 36, faces charges of attempted murder, discharge of a handgun at an inhabited dwelling, discharge of a handgun in a grossly negligent manner and being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to the criminal charges read in court.

With his retained attorney Byron Roope, Smith appeared Tuesday afternoon for his arraignment in Sacramento Superior Court. Roope declined to comment about his client’s case.

The standoff with authorities on Friday prompted the evacuation of residents at the Hazel Ranch apartment complex in Fair Oaks. Gunfire erupted before 10:30 a.m. at the 208-unit complex on the 8800 block of Winding Way near Hazel Avenue.

Deputies responded after another resident of the complex had called to report someone had fired weapons into their home, leaving a bullet hole through a window.

Sgt. Amar Gandhi, a sheriff’s spokesman, said there were multiple calls reporting shots fired at the complex, including from the suspect himself.

Gandhi said Smith began firing shots from inside an apartment through a window, before the deputies returned fire.

Moments later, the deputies backed off to seek cover while they called for additional deputies to respond. Residents were soon evacuated from the complex. Gandhi said the man later fired upon SWAT deputies and destroyed three sheriff’s aerial drones, as negotiators over 7½ hours continued to talk to Smith to get him to peacefully surrender.

The standoff ended around 5:30 p.m. Friday when authorities launched less-lethal gas into the apartment to flush out Smith, who walked out of the apartment and was taken into custody, the sheriff’s spokesman said.

Radio dispatches monitored by The Sacramento Bee indicated the man, who may have been suffering from a mental health crisis, laid down on the ground as deputies rushed in to detain him.

Gandhi said Smith indicated throughout the ordeal that he wanted to be killed by law enforcement, and it appeared that he “was setting them up for an ambush.”

Judge Alicia Hartley scheduled Smith to return to court April 23 for further proceedings in his case. He remains in custody at the Sacramento County Main Jail, where he is being held without bail.