Other deputies involved in Minnetonka shooting identified

A week after an exchange of gunfire left two deputies hurt and a man dead in Minnetonka, officials have released the identities of those involved.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office previously identified the suspect, who died, as 28-year-old Clint Hoyhtya, and the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office has said Deputy Christopher Heihn was the deputy who was shot and hospitalized. He was released the following day.

Now, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) has identified the other deputies involved in the April 10 incident as Tyler Jacob, an eight-year veteran, Keith McNamara, a 23-year veteran, and Steven Tomasko, a 15-year veteran. All of the deputies, including Heihn, fired their department weapons, according to the BCA.

The BCA says the deputies went to a home to arrest a person — not Hoyhtya — wanted for multiple felonies. However, when they knocked on the door and announced themselves, Hoyhtya started shooting.

Officers from the Minnetonka and South Lake Minnetonka Police Departments arrived to help after the shots were fired.

Heihn was shot and McNamara was also struck by shrapnel and treated at the scene. Hoyhtya died at the scene after being struck by deputies’ gunfire, despite wearing a tactical vest, the BCA says.

The BCA is still investigating the incident and says it was captured on body-worn cameras.

Editor’s note:

The BCA initially said that officers from the Minnetonka and South Lake Minnetonka Police Departments were with Hennepin County deputies when they went to serve the warrant. They have since corrected that statement, saying that the officers arrived after shots were fired. This article has been updated to reflect this.