By Micah Yip
Appeal-Democrat, Marysville, Calif.
MARYSVILLE, Calif. — Marysville police officer Osmar Rodarte was fatally shot at an Olivehurst residence during a multi-agency service of 20 search warrants in a transnational drug trafficking investigation on Wednesday, officials said.
The man accused of shooting Rodarte is also dead.
During the warrant service across Yuba, Sutter, Tehama and Butte counties, the Yuba Regional SWAT Team was met with gunfire from an individual inside a house on Kestrel Court in southwest Olivehurst.
Rodarte, a SWAT team officer was shot by the suspect inside the house and was taken to Adventist Health/Rideout Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injuries, Yuba County Sheriff Wendell Anderson said.
Officials said the officer is believed to have been wearing a bulletproof vest.
The Yuba County Sheriff’s Office said the shooting occurred about 7:50 a.m. Wednesday. Officials were still processing the scene behind yellow police tape at mid-day.
At 1 p.m. Wednesday, a motorized procession of law enforcement officers from the region escorted the Rodarte’s body from Adventist Health/Rideout Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, to a mortuary on D Street . Among those on the procession route were business owners, their customers, members of city staff from nearby city hall, and representatives from Sutter County.
The large American flag at 10th and E streets in Marysville was flying at half staff at noon today due to the officer’s death.
The individual suspected of shooting the officer was pronounced dead at the scene. It is believed the individual was shot, Yuba County District Attorney Clint Curry said.
“As you all know, this is a sad day in the city of Marysville,” Marysville Police Chief Christian Sachs said. “We lost an officer today who was near and dear to our hearts. He was a two-year veteran with our department, also a U.S. Army veteran…a loved one, a brother, a father, and just a close friend of ours.”
Sachs said law enforcement would escort Rodarte’s body from Marysville to Placer County at 9:30 a.m. Thursday .
A second individual was found inside the residence where the search warrant was executed, officials said. That person was detained and brought to the sheriff’s department for questioning, and has since been released.
The multi-year investigation leading up to Wednesday’s incident was conducted by the Yuba Sutter Narcotics and Gang Enforcement Task Force (NET-5) and targeted an alleged transnational drug trafficking organization. The organization was believed to have been moving substances from Mexico into California , Curry said.
“I can tell you that even prior to today, hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine had been seized — heroin, fentanyl, over $150,000 in currency,” Curry said Wednesday. “These were major players moving poison through our communities, and we couldn’t just sit and watch it happen — we had to do something about it.”
The incident Wednesday is being investigated by the Yuba Sutter Officer Involved Shooting Investigation Team, led by chief investigators from the Sutter and Yuba County district attorney’s offices, Curry said.
Officials said there were no altercations during the service of the other 19 search warrants.
The identity of the suspect is expected to be released within 24-48 hours, Curry said.
“But as far as exactly what happened inside that house, it’ll be probably months before we’re able to tell you the whole story of what happened,” Curry said.
According to the Officer Down Memorial Page website, this is the fifth Marysville police officer gunned down in the line of duty, and the first since officer Francis Martin Heenan was shot and killed in February of 1922 while investigating a robbery at a saloon at Second and C streets.
Assembly member James Gallagher issued a notice following the shooting.
“Janna and I were devastated to learn about the murder of a Marysville police officer this morning,” he said. “This is a tight-knit community and this loss will be felt by everyone who calls Marysville home. Our law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every day, and today’s tragedy underscores the sacrifices they make in service of others. Our prayers are with this fallen officer, his family, friends and fellow officers in this incredibly difficult time.”
—
© 2025 the Appeal-Democrat (Marysville, Calif.). Visit www.appeal-democrat.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.