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A 32-year-old man accused of setting fire to several Tuolumne County Sheriff’s patrol vehicles late last year will be arraigned in court today, according to the District Attorney’s Office. Samuel Henry Shockley, of Sonora, was arrested Thursday at a home on the 2300 block of Bronzan Road in Manteca in connection with an arson incident on Dec. 1 in the parking lot on Seco Street behind the sheriff’s patrol annex building. Three patrol vehicles were destroyed or severely damaged in the blaze set about 3 a.m. Other cars in the parking lot had flammable liquid poured on them. The fire was determined to have originated from a pickup truck stolen earlier in the downtown Sonora area and found parked between the sheriff’s vehicles.
The Sheriff’s Office at the time said nearby video surveillance cameras along the jail building were reviewed, but leads on a suspect were never established. Officials said the incident was being treated like an act of domestic terrorism. According to a Sheriff’s Office statement released Friday, a months-long investigation by sheriff’s detectives, the District Attorney’s Office and Federal Bureau of Investigation culminated in the arrest. Evidence gathered at the scene and submitted to the Department of Justice for analysis contained a DNA profile. The DNA was run through a database, which returned a match for Shockley, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Investigators declined to reveal details about the exact evidence and DNA that was processed, said Sheriff’s Sgt. Jeff Wilson. An arrest warrant was issued for Shockley on suspicion of felony aggravated arson. Detectives tracked him to the Manteca residence, where he was taken into custody without incident, the Sheriff’s Office said. He was booked into Tuolumne County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bail. Wilson said that Shockley doesn’t have an extensive criminal history, although he was arrested by the Sheriff’s Office a couple of times in the past several years. Tuolumne County Superior Court records show that Shockley pleaded guilty in 2006 to assaulting his former roommate, Brittany Rose Martino. According to the records, Shockley slammed Martino’s head against a wall in her house after an argument and was sentenced to three months in county jail and five years probation for the felony. Shockley was arrested again in 2009 after a search of his home revealed a 12-gauge shotgun, which he was ineligible to possess as a convicted felon. He pleaded guilty to the charge in March 2010 and was sentenced to four months in county jail. The Tuolumne County Recorder’s Office said Shockley and Autumn Winde Amick were married Sept. 12, 2008. The 31-year-old Amick, a one-time teller and assistant branch manager for BBVA Compass Bank in Sonora, turned herself in Sept. 12, 2011, after an arrest warrant was issued for her. She was accused of embezzling about $130,000 from an elderly woman’s account. Amick pleaded guilty on Dec. 5 to charges of stealing from an elderly or dependent adult and identity theft. She was sentenced to six years in prison on Jan. 3. Court records also show Amick had a court date for a trial readiness conference on Nov. 28, the same day the historic Tuolumne County Courthouse was evacuated for two hours after Sonora police discovered a fake bomb in a canvas bag outside an entrance. Wilson confirmed Tuolumne County Sheriff’s detectives are investigating the incident, which had previously been under the Sonora Police Department’s jurisdiction. The DA’s Office on Friday said it was reviewing reports from the Sheriff’s Office and Shockley was scheduled for an in-custody arraignment Monday. |