The State - News from March 5, 1989

A Kern County sheriff’s deputy has died from a gunshot wound to the head inflicted with his own gun while fighting with a man who then killed himself with the officer’s weapon, the department reported. Deputy Rick McHale, 32, a 7-year veteran of the department, died at Kern Medical Center from a bullet wound behind his right ear, Senior Deputy Richard Dixon said. McHale was shot while answering a disturbance call. The deputy, who did not have a backup officer with him, apparently fought with Jerry Twyman Jr., 26, Dixon said. “During the struggle, it appears that Deputy McHale was shot with his own weapon,” Dixon said. “Then Twyman apparently turned the gun on himself.”