Man Shot, Killed by Police Had Suicide Note in Wallet

A 30-year-old Spring Valley man who was fatally wounded during an exchange of gunfire with San Diego police officers in Chula Vista may have anticipated his death because he carried a suicide note and wore a bulletproof vest, police said Friday.

Mark Samuel Ohringer, the man who was chased by police and a sheriff’s deputy through four cities before he left his Chevy Suburban and shot at San Diego police Wednesday night, was found wearing a bulletproof vest inside the lining of his jacket and carried a suicide note in his wallet, said San Diego homicide Lt. Dan Berglund.

Berglund said the note was made out to Ohringer’s mother and said:

“Sorry that it had to end like this. When you read this it will all be over but I’ll be off the hook.”

In the note, Ohringer also said he wanted to tell his two daughters, ages 6 and 8, as well as his mother that “he loved them and would love them forever,” Berglund said.

Police had no idea why Ohringer would carry a suicide note while wearing a bulletproof vest unless he “wanted to go,” Berglund said.

“My thought was that perhaps he was prepared for any contingency,” Berglund said. “If he could escape he would escape. If not, he would go to the limit.”

Berglund said he learned from a medical examiner that Ohringer “had methamphetamines and amphetamines in his system” when he died. Chula Vista police Lt. Merlin Wilson said that perhaps Ohringer’s use of drugs accounted for his irrational behavior.

Shortly after 10 p.m. Wednesday, a sheriff’s deputy attempted to stop Ohringer in Lemon Grove for a traffic violation. Ohringer refused to pull over and drove west into San Diego where he stopped, put his car in reverse and rammed the deputy’s patrol car, police said.

San Diego patrol officers joined the chase as Ohringer sped through Southeast San Diego. As he fled through National City, Ohringer fired several shots at police from the window of his vehicle, police said.

He left his truck in a blaze of gunfire after it jumped a curb and came to a stop at an embankment on a dead-end street in Chula Vista.

Four San Diego police officers fired six rounds from one shotgun and 20 rounds from four 9-millimeter automatic pistols, striking Ohringer once in the head, once in the right ankle and once in the left knee, Berglund said. Then Ohringer either crawled or fell back into his vehicle.

A .22-caliber revolver was found in the vehicle and a .380-caliber automatic pistol was found lying on the ground near the driver’s door when the shootout ended, Berglund said. Expended shells from both guns were found in the car, but it was not known how many times Ohringer fired, he said.

“One officer was very lucky,” said Berglund referring to Noel McElfresh, 36, a police officer for 2 1/2 years. When the shootout began, McElfresh sought cover behind a pole, which was hit by a bullet that would have struck him, Berglund said.

Ohringer died at 1:33 a.m. Thursday at UC San Diego Medical Center from a gunshot wound in the head, investigator Cal Vine, of the county medical examiner’s office, said Friday. Ohringer is survived by his mother, who requested that she not be identified, he said.

Ohringer, believed to be armed and dangerous, was sought by police after he did not appear for sentencing in April on convictions for possession of drugs for sale and an escape attempt, police spokesman Bill Robinson said.

The four officers involved in the shooting are now on administrative leave and will be evaluated before returning to work, Berglund said.

In the meantime, Chula Vista police will present the case to the district attorney, who will determine whether the shooting was justified. Reviews will be conducted by the San Diego Police Department’s shooting review board, the police chief and a citizens review board, he said.