RIDGECREST, Calif. (AP) — An 18-day manhunt in the mountainous high desert of central California ended when two deputies opened fire on a man who pulled out a handgun during a confrontation on a rural road, authorities said Sunday.
Benjamin Peter Ashley, 34, was struck by several rounds after he failed to comply with orders to drop the weapon as he walked toward foothills east of Bakersfield on Saturday, Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood told The Associated Press.
Ashley may have turned the 9 mm handgun on himself after being shot by the deputies, Youngblood said. An autopsy planned for Monday will determine the cause of death.
"He either died from his injuries, or he shot himself and died. It's hard to confirm at this point," Youngblood said.
Three other weapons, including a pair of .44-caliber handguns, were found on Ashley's person and in a backpack he was carrying, the sheriff said.
The confrontation came after the owner of a rural convenience store reported that a man matching Ashley's description had come in and bought about $100 worth of junk food.
"He was dirty. He looked like he had been hiking for days," Gary Welfl, the owner of Brady's Mini-Mart in Inyokern, told KERO-TV.
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