SAN LUIS OBISPO – On August 30, at approximately 1:17 a.m., the San Luis Obispo Police Department attempted to stop a vehicle for running a red-light at Santa Rosa and Peach. The vehicle driver, later determined to be Richard Archuleta, 56-year-old of Oceano, pulled over near Monterey and Santa Rosa.
Before the officer stopping Archuleta exited his vehicle and fled the area in Monterey and Osos’s direction. A search of the area was conducted, but the driver was not immediately located. Approximately 30 minutes into the search, a person walking in the area flagged down one of the officers and reported a male on the ground bleeding near the courthouse’s east wall on the Santa Rosa side. Officers located Archuleta and immediately requested paramedics to respond to the area to evaluate his injuries. Once on the scene, paramedics determined Archuleta was deceased.
San Luis Obispo Police detectives, along with a San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Coroner Investigator conducted an additional investigation and learned Archuleta gained access to the roof of the Courthouse after he jumped into a secured, fenced area. Investigators believe Archuleta went onto the roof after he fled from the traffic stop.
This is an on-going investigation, and anyone with information regarding the incident is encouraged to contact the San Luis Obispo Police Department at 805-781-7312 or Crime Stoppers at 805-549-STOP.
