Ventura County Deputy Fatally Shoots Man
A Ventura County sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a man early Thursday after a car chase ended in the dead end of a residential street, authorities said.
Derek B. Myers, 26, of Thousand Oaks, was pronounced dead from multiple gunshot wounds at Los Robles Regional Medical Center shortly after 3 a.m., authorities said.
Sheriff’s officials said he threatened the deputy with what turned out to be a paintball gun before being killed.
About 3 a.m., they said, the motorist failed to pull over after a patrol car tried to stop him for a traffic violation. The two- to three-minute chase came to a halt when Myers crashed into a brick wall at the end of a cul-de-sac north of the Ventura Freeway near Moorpark Road.
Myers got out of the car holding the gun, sheriff’s officials said. Neighbors, startled awake by squealing tires, reported hearing deputies yell, “Drop the gun!” Then several gunshots rang out.
Investigators, who called the shooting self defense, did not release the name of the deputy who fired the fatal bullet.
Times correspondent Jason Takenouchi contributed to this story.
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