California deputies shot and killed a man who was believed to be the primary target of a manhunt that lasted two weeks on the desert in central California, authorities said late Saturday.
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A man who matched the description of Benjamin Peter Ashley, 34, was fatally struck by two deputies who tried to stop him as he walked on a rural road toward the foothills, Kern County sheriff’s spokesman Ray Pruitt said.
Ashley then pulled a 9-millimeter handgun from his waistband and the deputies opened fire, Youngblood said.
Three other weapons, including a pair of.44-calibre handguns, were found on Ashley’s person and in a backpack he was carrying, the sheriff said.
RIDGECREST, Calif. (AP) – Sheriff’s deputies in California have shot and killed a man believed to be the target of a 2-week-long manhunt in the rugged, mountainous high desert of Central California.
Ashley is suspected of kidnapping three men July 28 in Twin Oaks. He was spotted by a convenience store owner after he bought $100 worth of junk food at his shop, News Talk 610 CKTB reported. Kern County Sheriff’s officials announced Friday afternoon that they were reducing the size of the search area and the number of law enforcement officers involved in the search for Ashley.
“I’m confident that it’s him”, Youngblood said. Authorities say Ashley attacked and wounded two SWAT team members on August. 1 after they entered a mobile home where he was hiding.
Two days later, 64-year-old former dentist David Markiewitz was found shot to death inside his cabin about 10 miles away. Both deputies fired and the man was shot dead. Two elementary schools and a middle school were shut. Authorities also closed a stretch of the famed Pacific Crest Trail in the southern Sierra Nevada during the manhunt.
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Officials say they hope to get the identification of the man on Monday.
