Standoff closes section of I-15 near Beaver

BEAVER — A section of I-15 was expected to remain closed until about midnight Wednesday following a three-hour standoff that ended with a California man shooting and killing himself, police said.

Russell Scott Goldberg, 49, was wanted by police in Redondo Beach, Calif., in connection with the death of his ex-wife, who was found dead in her apartment Wednesday morning.

Police there issued an attempt-to-locate bulletin about 6:15 p.m., and a Utah Highway Patrol unit spotted the green Saturn Vue in question 10 minutes later about 13 miles south of Beaver.

"It was a pretty violent killing, and (Redondo Beach police) said (Goldberg) was armed and dangerous," said Beaver County Sheriff Cameron Noel.

Sheriffs deputies and Utah Highway Patrol troopers pursued the Saturn north through Beaver and brought him to a stop with spikes placed on the freeway, Noel said.

The Saturn sat "in the middle of the highway" for more than three hours until a SWAT team was able to approach the vehicle, Noel said.

"We were able to get to the vehicle, and he had committed suicide," he said.

Goldberg was alone in the Saturn, Noel said. The SWAT team and a Department of Public Safety helicopter were called out to assist in the standoff.

According to the Contra Costa Times, Goldberg and his ex-wife, Margaret Ann Duffy Goldberg, 45, had argued in court just days earlier over spousal payments.

The couple had been involved in a lengthy custody battle over their two children, a 13-year-old girl and 10-year-old boy, the Times reported.

— Jared Page