Matthew J Ruth Obituary, Death; Funeral arrangements announced for officers killed in York County

Matthew J Ruth Obituary, Death; – Funeral arrangements have been made public for three police officers who lost their lives in the line of duty last week in York County.

The funerals for Det. Sgt. Cody Becker, Det. Isaiah Emenheiser, and Det. Mark Baker are scheduled for Thursday, September 25, at noon at Living Word Community Church, located at 2530 Cape Horn Road in Red Lion.

Earlier this year, a funeral was conducted for Officer Andrew Duarte at the same church.
Five law enforcement officials were shot last week while attempting to serve a warrant at a farm on Haar Road in North Codorus Township.

All three deceased officers were members of the Northern York County Regional Police Department. Additionally, a fourth officer from the same department and a York County deputy sheriff sustained injuries.

The suspect, identified as Matthew J. Ruth, perished during a “final exchange of fire,” as stated by York County District Attorney Tim Barker.
Ambush | The shootout occurred at a farmhouse on Haar Road in North Codorus Township, York County, on Wednesday afternoon.

• Ambush | The shootout happened at a farmhouse on Haar Road in North Codorus Township, York County, Wednesday afternoon.
• Before the shooting | Around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, the suspect’s ex-girlfriend’s mother told police they spotted Ruth with a trail camera on their property, according to the DA. They said he was wearing camouflage and was looking into their house with binoculars.
• Previous incident | While police were at the property Tuesday night, the women told police the ex-girlfriend’s vehicle had been set on fire in the driveway on Aug. 20 and they believed Ruth did it. That incident prompted them to set up the trail camera.
• Rifle spotted | Police said the trail camera photo showed Ruth with an AR‑15‑style rifle slung across his shoulders. Police said they also found Ruth’s pickup truck parked along Emig Road near a line of woods. They looked for Ruth but could not find him.
• Warrants | Detectives executed a search at Ruth’s home in Penn Township at 12:11 p.m. Wednesday. Ruth was not there, but they spoke to his family and searched the home. They then moved to the farm around 2:02 p.m. with a deputy sheriff and a drone to search outbuildings and fields.
• Ambush | At 2:08 p.m., detectives opened the front door of the farmhouse (which the mother and daughter had left for their own safety) and Ruth immediately fired multiple rounds from an AR‑15‑style rifle with a suppressor, according to the DA. Four detectives went down. The deputy sheriff and another detective returned fire. Ruth fired at them as well, hitting the deputy sheriff, the DA said.
• Final exchange of fire | Ruth moved to the roadway where the gunfight ended by 2:10 p.m. and 16 seconds. The first backup arrived at 2:14 p.m.
• Ruth had been fatally shot.
• Motive, investigation | The DA said domestic violence was the clear motive and had the ex-girlfriend and her mother tried to go into the house instead of the detectives, the two women surely would have been killed.
• Found inside the home | The family Labrador was found shot dead in the home’s basement.
• Next steps | The information above is just from the initial findings. PSP is the lead investigator on the case, which is ongoing.