Sheriff’s Deputy Fatally Shoots Suspected Car Thief

A sheriff’s deputy fatally wounded a suspected car thief in Artesia early Sunday after the man refused to drop a screwdriver and stepped toward the deputy, sheriff’s officials said.

The encounter began when deputies responded to a call that a man was looking into cars near Ibex Avenue and 175th Street. A deputy who searched the area saw a man matching the description of the suspect sitting in the cab of a pickup truck parked in a driveway and ordered him out of the vehicle, a sheriff’s spokeswoman said.

As the man stepped out of the truck, the deputy saw a metal object in his hand and instructed him to drop it, the spokeswoman said, but the suspect instead “advanced on the deputy.” The deputy fired several rounds, striking the man in the upper body, she said.

The suspect, who was not immediately identified, was taken to Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 4:15 a.m.

Investigators recovered a 12-inch screwdriver from the scene and found that the steering column of the truck had been broken, she said.