Officer Andrew Todd Stevens

Andrew Todd Stevens

Officer Andy Stevens was shot and killed during a traffic stop in a rural area of Yolo County.

Officer Stevens, a commercial vehicle inspector, had made a traffic stop near the intersection of County Road 96 and Highway 16. He approached the vehicle and greeted the driver when he was shot and instantly killed. A bystander who witnessed the incident used Officer Stevens' police radio to call for assistance.

The suspect fled the scene, but he and a female accomplice who attempted to hide him were arrested early the next morning by members of the Placer County Sheriff's Office. Two male suspects were later convicted of first-degree murder for Officer Stevens' death.

Further investigation revealed that the suspect had been hired as a hitman to murder another man, completely unrelated to the traffic stop, and had been provided a handgun to use in the contract killing. The suspect used that handgun to shoot Officer Stevens when he was pulled over.

In exchange for her testimony against the shooter, the female accomplice plead guilty to harboring a felon and was sentenced to eight months in a residential drug rehabilitation program and five years probation. The shooter was found guilty of murder with special circumstances and sentenced to death. The man who provided the firearm was found guilty of murder and conspiracy, and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

Officer Stevens had served with the California Highway Patrol for 13 years and was assigned to the Valley Division. He is survived by his wife.