The following is a press release issued by the Willits Police Department. The information has not been proven in a court of law and any individuals described should be presumed innocent until proven guilty:
On June 30th, 2023 at about 5:56 PM, Willits Police Department Officers were dispatched to what was initially described as a rolling road rage incident where one party brandished a firearm at the victims and was now following them. A Willits Police Officer attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the vehicle however the vehicle fled at a high rate of speed. Due to the nature of the report and the mention of a firearm a vehicle pursuit was initiated. Officers immediately requested the assistance of the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office as well as the California Highway Patrol. MCSO responded to assist. Due to the extremely high rate of speed of the suspect car the pursuit was terminated.
Officers learned the victim was a previous acquaintance of the suspect and upon learning the suspect’s name, officers responded to this residence. During this time, other Willits Police Officers met with the victims and learned the male was stalking the victims and had tried to run their vehicle off the road which contained multiple minor children inside. Officers learned probable cause existed to arrest the driver, Shannon Henson (27, Willits) for multiple violent felony crimes.
Officers located the vehicle in the 1900 Block of East Hill Road, hidden behind a residence. From there MCSO K9 Sam was deployed and tracked Henson through the wooded area behind the residence. MCSO Deputies and WPD Officers tracked the subject through the woods for over an hour and were able to locate him and take him into custody after he surrendered to K9 Sam. It was also later found Henson had thrown a loaded .380 caliber handgun out of the vehicle during the beginning of the pursuit which a citizen called to report after she located it.
Henson, who is currently on formal probation and a convicted felon is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition. Henson was booked into the Mendocino County Correctional Facility for the following charges: PC29800(a)(1) – Felon in possession of a firearm, PC 30305(a)(1) – Felon in possession of ammunition, PC 25850(c)(6) – Carrying a loaded firearm in public which is not registered to you, PC 646.9 – Felony Stalking, PC 135 – Destruction of evidence, PC 273.5 – Felony domestic violence, PC 273(A)(a) – Felony child endangerment, PC 245(a)(1) – Assault with a deadly weapon, PC 245(a)(4) – assault likely to produce great bodily injury, PC 417(b) – Brandishing of a loaded firearm, PC 1203.2 – Violation of Felony probation, CVC 2800.2 – Felony vehicle pursuit with wonton disregard for safety, CVC 2800.4 – Felony vehicle pursuit traveling into oncoming traffic and CVC 14601.2 – Driving while driver license suspended for DUI.
The Willits Police Department would like to thank the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Deputies who responded to assist with the capture of Henson as well as the numerous community members who called in to assist with location of evidence and suspect location information.
