Man Killed by Deputies Had Mental Problems

A Camarillo man fatally shot by Ventura County deputies after he barricaded himself in his home was believed to be mentally ill, a sheriff’s spokesman said Wednesday.

Jon Edward Hill, 46, of Camarillo, was originally identified by one of his aliases, John Elijah Rocks, but a check of his birth certificate and fingerprints revealed his legal name, said sheriff’s Sgt. Harold Hanley.

Hill died of a gunshot wound to his chest, said Deputy Coroner James Baroni.

It remained unclear what set off the chain of events that led to Hill’s death Tuesday in an upscale neighborhood on Rowland Avenue, but Hanley said Hill suffered from paranoia and had a history of other mental problems.

Family members said Hill “was afraid he would be abducted by aliens and that’s what caused him to change his name so many times,” Hanley said.

The incident began about 4 p.m. Tuesday when deputies, responding to reports of a man driving erratically, chased Hill through city streets and onto the Ventura Freeway at speeds of up to 100 mph.

Hill stopped at the Rowland Avenue home he shared with his father and barricaded himself inside. At one point, he used a knife to slash the arm of an officer during a scuffle at an open window, authorities said. Officers then fired a flash-bang device and half a dozen gunshots at him.

Later, Hill emerged from the house and confronted deputies, who fired several rounds at him, officials said.

He was taken to St. John’s Pleasant Valley Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11:55 p.m., Baroni said.