Fugitive shot dead by police after two weeks on the run in California desert

A fugitive on the run in the California desert for two weeks has been shot dead by police. Benjamin Peter Ashley was killed as he brandished a handgun at two sheriff’s deputies who tracked him down walking on a rural road in the rugged, mountainous region. The 34-year-old was found after the owner of a convenience store reported that a man matching Ashley’s description had come in and bought about $100 worth of junk food. "We have not positively identified him, but all indications are it is the suspect we were looking for,“ Kern County sheriff’s spokesman Ray Pruitt said.

He was dirty. He looked like he had been hiking for days

Shop owner Gary Welfl

Dozens of deputies and officers from various agencies have been searching in remote terrain about 30 miles east of Bakersfield for Ashley. He is suspected of killing a retired dentist, taking three men hostage and wounding two deputies. During the manhunt, authorities warned residents to stay inside and lock their doors and windows. 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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