December 11, 2002

PARK RANGER IS SHOT IN KNEE
CRIME SPREE: ARMED MAN SOUGHT IN SHOOTING IN SANTA CRUZ, KIDNAPPING OF 2 WOMEN, AUTO THEFT

Author: DAVID L. BECK AND ROXANNE STITES, Mercury News

Edition: Northern California
Section: Local
Page: 1B

Estimated printed pages: 3

Article Text:

Authorities are searching for a man they say shot a park ranger in Santa Cruz on Tuesday morning and then kidnapped two women at gunpoint in their bathrobes.

The women were released unharmed near San Jose City College. The ranger, who was shot in the knee, is recovering from surgery.

Law officers were still looking for David Paul Melberg, 38, of Redding on Tuesday night. Melberg also is being sought by Shasta County authorities who say they'd like to talk to him about a crime wave there.

The women whose car he drove to San Jose described him as polite and cordial, according to San Jose police, but the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Department described him as armed and dangerous.

He may still have their car, a white 1984 Mercedes-Benz sedan, California license plate number 1HY938. But, conversing with them en route to San Jose, he also talked about finding other transportation to Northern California or possibly Oregon. And he mentioned suicide as a possibility, authorities said.

The chain of events began shortly before 8 a.m. Tuesday when Sharon Galligan, supervising ranger at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, came upon a man and a pickup truck in a campground that was closed for the winter.

She was writing him a ticket for illegal camping when he shot her in the knee. She fired back but appears to have missed.

He fled in the pickup, but went only a few blocks on Graham Hill Road, near Felton, before he stopped and pulled a gun on an elderly woman standing outside her home in her bathrobe. He led her back into the house, found another woman there in a bathrobe -- her daughter, authorities say -- and then forced both of them to drive with him to San Jose in their car.

He let them out at Moorpark and Lee avenues, near San Jose City College and just off Interstate 280, to which he apparently returned. A student noticed the women in their robes, and they told him they had been kidnapped. He notified campus police, who in turn notified San Jose authorities.

Criminal past

Melberg was sent to prison for petty theft and a prior conviction in 1992 and paroled in 1993, according to California Department of Corrections records.

Shasta County authorities say they want him but would not say why.

''Right now, we're investigating a series of . . . residential burglaries, some carjackings and robberies, with an outstanding suspect,'' said sheriff's Capt. William Cox. ''We do want to talk to Mr. Melberg. He's just simply wanted for questioning at this time.''

Galligan, 45, of Santa Cruz, is a veteran of nearly 17 years with the state park system as well as an avid volleyball player, said Santa Cruz sheriff's spokesman Deputy Kim Allyn.

First ranger shot

State parks spokesman Steve Capps said that while other rangers have been involved in shooting incidents in recent years, Galligan was the first to be shot. She was listed in good condition Tuesday night at Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz.

The pickup the suspect had at the campground was a stolen Dodge Dakota, according to Allyn, although it was not clear where it was stolen from. Cox said a Toyota pickup, not a Dodge, had been stolen as part of a house burglary a few weeks ago in Shasta County.

Melberg is described as 5 feet 8, about 145 pounds, white, with hazel eyes and brown hair. He was wearing a mustard-colored baseball cap, plaid shirt and jeans. Allyn said he could have several handguns.

Memo:
SHORTER VERSION: page 4B, Morning Final edition

Copyright (c) 2002 San Jose Mercury News
Record Number: 0212120038