Deputy Ken Royal was rushing to provide “back up” to a fellow officer who had made a felony vehicle stop on two suspects believed to be responsible for an armed robbery of a south area tavern which had been broadcast minutes earlier.

One suspect had fled the vehicle and ran into a nearby field.

Deputy Royal arrived at the scene and while being covered by his fellow officers he approached the suspect who was still in the vehicle.

The suspect opened the door and began to get out when he suddenly drew a gun from his waistband and fired, striking Deputy Royal.

As the suspect attempted to flee he was shot by deputies.

Officer Ken Royal died at the scene.

The first suspect was apprehend by officers a short time later. The suspect that shot Deputy Royal recovered from his wounds, stood trial and was sent to state prison for armed robbery and murder.

The Kenneth B. Royal Firing Range located at the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center is named in honor of Deputy Royal.

Deputy Royal is buried at East Lawn Sierra Hills Memorial Park on Greenback Lane.

On May 23, 1968, Sergeant Gordon Joinville was shot and killed by Zachary Ford Lillard. He is the only San Mateo officer to have been killed in the line of duty. Sergeant Joinville was 34-years-old and a 12-year police veteran at the time of his death. He is survived by his wife, Margaret, and two children.

Sergeant Joinville was investigating the theft of a large quantity of a chemical used in the manufacture of LSD. Sergeant Joinville, who was in an unmarked car, planned to follow the suspect’s car from Fifth Avenue and El Camino Real, to obtain the location of a drug lab. His investigation led him to his ill-fated meeting with Zachary Lillard.

For reasons unknown, the suspect changed directions, and, according to witnesses, got out of his car and into the back seat of Sergeant Joinville’s car.

During Sergeant Joinville’s encounter with Lillard, there was a countywide alert because of an armed robbery and radio traffic was very heavy. Sergeant Joinville asked dispatch to run a computer check. He was asked to “stand by.” That was Sergeant Joinville’s last radio transmission. Dispatch received a call from Bob Reed, a gas station owner, who advised that an officer had been shot at Fifth Avenue and Claremont Street.

Lillard shot Sergeant Joinville twice. The first shot came from the back seat and through Sergeant Joinville’s heart. Lillard then shot Sergeant Joinville in the head at point blank range after he collapsed across the front seat of his patrol car.

Sergeant Joinville had a piece of paper on his clipboard that had a name and license plate number written on it. An investigation led to the identification of Zachary Lillard as the suspect. Lilliard was also wanted for kidnapping, armed robbery, and assault. Through a vigorous manhunt, and a joint effort with the FBI, Zachary Lillard was located in San Francisco and taken into custody. The car he was driving at the time of the shooting, and the .45 cal weapon, were both recovered.

Zachary Lillard was convicted and sentenced to death; however, his death sentence was overturned by the courts. Zachary Lillard died, at the age of 70, while serving a life term sentence in the California State Prison system.

On October 5, 1968, the Joinville Swim Center was opened on Kehoe Avenue in Sergeant Joinville’s honor. He has been memorialized at the San Mateo County Hall of Justice, the Peace Officers Memorial in Sacramento, California, and the National Peace Officers Memorial in Washington DC.

Officer Kenneth E. Marshall was probably pursuing a violator, investigators later determined, when his patrol car skidded on a rain-slicked roadway and struck a light pole. Another patrol officer reached the scene minutes after the crash, but found the 31-year-old patrolman had been killed instantly. Marshall graduated from the CHP Academy in 1962 and served in the San Francisco Area before transferring to the Humboldt Area in 1965.

Officer Merle L. Andrews was pursuing a stolen vehicle whose driver was the subject of an all-points-bulletin sought on robbery and kidnapping charges. Andrews stopped the suspect and radioed for back-up, then approached the vehicle with his weapon drawn. The driver opened fire killing the 39-year-old patrol officer. The gunman fled, but was captured a few hours later. Andrews was a member of the Patrol for nine years.

Officer Charles R. Lilly and his partner had just pulled over two traffic violators. Lilly was standing at the driver’s door of one of the stopped vehicles when a passing car struck and killed him. The killer of the 30-year-old patrol officer then fled but was apprehended within minutes. Before joining the CHP in 1965, Officer Lilly had served with the San Francisco Police Department.