SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - The father of a suspect in the fatal shooting of two California police officers said Wednesday his son was a ticking time bomb who had contempt for police and the justice system.

Jeremy Goulet, a 35-year-old coffee shop worker, had numerous run-ins with the law and swore he would never go back to jail, Ronald Goulet told The Associated Press. He said he never thought his son would turn to such violence.

Santa Cruz police Sgt. Loran Butch Baker and Detective Elizabeth Butler were shot and killed Tuesday outside Jeremy Goulet's home, where they had gone to question him regarding a report that he made inappropriate sexual advances toward a co-worker at her home.

Goulet, who was fired from his job at Kind Grind coffee shop on Saturday, was killed a short time later in a shootout with police.

A manager at the coffee shop said no one would speak to the media at this point.

The shootout occurred about 60 miles south of San Francisco in the town with world-class surf spots, historic downtown with bookstores and coffee shops, and the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Its boardwalk is a major summer draw for tourists hoping to escape inland heat or enjoy a classic California experience.

Lately, the city of 60,000 people had seen a spike in assaults that community leaders had planned to address Tuesday during a downtown rally that was cancelled along with a City Council meeting by teary-eyed leaders after they learned of the

"There aren't words to describe this horrific tragedy," said Police Chief Kevin Vogel.

The mid-afternoon shooting about a mile from the boardwalk prompted the lockdown of two schools and an automated police call to nearby residents, warning them to stay locked inside. The ordinarily quiet neighborhood echoed with a brief barrage of gunfire that killed the suspect about a half-hour after the officers were shot.

A store clerk a few buildings from the shooting said the shootout was terrifying.

"We ducked. We have big desks so under the desks we went," said the clerk, who spoke on condition of anonymity and asked that her store not be identified because she feared for her safety.

In May 2008, Goulet was convicted in Portland, Ore., of peeping on a 22-year-old woman who was showering in her condominium, and of carrying a concealed weapon, according to The Oregonian newspaper.

The elder Goulet said his son constantly undermined any success he had in the military or college due to an insatiable desire to peep in the windows of women showering or getting dressed.

"He's got one problem, peeping in windows," his father said in a halting emotional voice. "I asked him, 'Why don't you just go to a strip club?' He said he wants a good girl that doesn't know she's being spied on, and said he couldn't stop doing it."

Jeffery Goulet, the suspect's twin brother, released a statement Wednesday saying his family was deeply saddened by the events in Santa Cruz.

"We would also like to extend our deepest sympathies to the families of Sgt. Loran Baker and Detective Elizabeth Butler," it said.