Man Who Shot at Cops During Crazy Police Chase Around Eureka Pleads Guilty to Attempted Murder

On March 30, 2023, Jared Eli Aubrey, age 32, pled guilty to two counts of attempted murder of a police officer and two counts of shooting at an occupied motor vehicle. Mr. Aubrey also admitted that he discharged a firearm related to the attempted murder charges.

On July 20, 2022, Humboldt County Sheriff’s Deputies J. Walstrom and Z. Dickson tried to stop a car for a traffic violation. Mr. Aubrey, a passenger in the fleeing car, leaned out the window and began firing at the deputies. The first shots were fired in the vicinity of Pine Hill School. The high speed pursuit continued throughout Eureka streets, and Mr. Aubrey again leaned out and fired a second set of shots near the intersection of Utah Street and Highland Avenue. Mr. Aubrey fired a total of four to six shots at the deputies.

During the pursuit, Deputy Walstrom, while he was driving, fired one round from his patrol rifle through the windshield. The pursuit ended when Mr. Aubrey’s car crashed into another car at the intersection of Buhne Street and Harrison Avenue.

Deputy District Attorney Roger Rees prosecuted the case and negotiated the disposition with input from the involved deputies. The District Attorney’s Investigative Bureau assisted in the prosecution, with primary support from Investigator B. Brawner. Mr. Aubrey was represented throughout the criminal proceedings by local attorney RJ Leohner.

District Attorney Stacey Eads would like to thank all of the involved law enforcement agencies for their responses, including the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, Eureka Police Department, Arcata Police Department, Fortuna Police Department, and all of the officers and other personnel that assisted in the investigation and prosecution of this case. District Attorney Eads would also like to thank all of the citizens that contacted law enforcement to provide statements that enable the officers to collect all the available evidence.

Mr. Aubrey will be sentenced on April 25, 2023, to an agreed-upon prison sentence of 43 years 8 months to life in prison.