UPDATE – Frazier Park, CA (Sunday, Aug. 16 at 11 a.m.)— The Kern County Coroner’s office has used fingerprints to verify the man killed yesterday near Highway 395 was the subject of the manhunt that lasted from July 28 through yesterday afternoon. Sheriff Donny Youngblood said an autopsy on Monday will confirm whether Benjamin Peter Ashley shot himself or was killed by rounds fired by deputies. Ashley allegedly brandished a handgun at two deputies who responded to a citizen’s tip after the fugitive visited Brady’s Mini Mart at 4467 North Highway 395.

Eight year Kern County Sheriff’s Deputy Kevin Parsons, 41 and nine year veteran James Perry, 36 shot multiple rounds at Ashley, who allegedly waved the gun  when they sought to contact a man who resembled the fugitive’s description.

Frazier Park, CA (Sunday, Aug. 16, 2015 at 6 a.m.)—It is confirmed that Benjamin Peter Ashley has been killed by gunshot wounds near the town of Inyokern, not far from Highway 395 in eastern Kern County. It is believed that Kern County sheriff’s deputies pulled the fatal trigger to end a manhunt that began July 28 in rugged mountain terrain near Twin Oaks and Jawbone Canyon, then spanned portions of the Pacific Crest Trail in the Southern Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Frazier Park substation Sergeant Dustin Downey was a team leader for the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team responsible for the search.

Ashley was a suspect in a crime spree that allegedly involved three kidnappings, a murder and two attempted murders—leaving one Kern County SWAT deputy wounded in both arms and another deputy grazed by a bullet. Kern County Sheriff’s Office officials asked for the public’s help to locate Ashley. It was tips from two citizens that led to summoning of two deputies who sought to contact the suspect, then ended the crime spree. The 24-hour Tip Line is 661-392-4360.

We will report more in this upcoming issue of The Mountain Enterprise.

This is part of the August 14, 2015 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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