Update: One suspect arrested, another found dead off Hwy. 46 after chase through SLO County
Update, 6 p.m., Thursday: The Kern County Sheriff’s Office has clarified this story to confirm that only one suspect was arrested, a juvenile, and the other, a 20-year-old man from Lompoc, was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head.
“Due to the circumstances of the case, a homicide investigation was initiated. At this time, it is unknown how the deceased suspect suffered the injury. No law enforcement officers fired their weapons during this incident,” Kern County officials said.
Original story:
Two suspects wanted in connection with a shooting, armed robbery and murder were located in a remote area near the border of Kern and San Luis Obispo counties on Wednesday after a high-speed chase and search.
The incident began at approximately 2:18 p.m. in Santa Barbara County, when Lompoc police were dispatched to a shooting on the 700 bock of North E Street, according to Lompoc Police Sgt. Sergio Arias.
No one was wounded in the shooting, Arias said.
Police sent a be-on-the-lookout alert regarding the suspect’s vehicle, according to emergency dispatch reports.
A short time later, an armed robbery with one suspect wielding a black handgun occurred at Houston’s Liquors on the 400 block of Avenue of the Flags in Buellton.
Law enforcement officers said the suspects may be connected to a dark blue BMW, the same description for the Lompoc incident.
According to the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office, deputies spotted the vehicle at 4:40 p.m. near Highway 46 East and Golden Hill Road in Paso Robles.
After losing sight of the vehicle, additional deputies and a CHP helicopter responded and the suspects were again located around 5:30 p.m. heading east on Highway 46 near Mill Road., the Sheriff’s Office said.
Deputies tried to stop the vehicle, and a high-speed chase ensued into Kern County, where the suspects stopped, left their vehicle and fled into a nearby orchard.
San Luis Obispo County law enforcement officers established a perimeter while counterparts from Kern County conducted a search.
A search of the vehicle did not turn up suspects or any weapons, according to emergency dispatch reports.
One witness reportedly spotted the two men on the north side of the highway “as if they’re running to Fresno,” according to emergency radio traffic.
By approximately 7:30 p.m., at least one person was in custody, according to emergency dispatch reports, and there were unconfirmed reports one of the suspect may have been shot.
Eventually, both suspects were located. The case was turned over to Kern County.
Arias said Lompoc police detectives were trying to determine if the suspects were connected to other crimes in the city. The SLO County Sheriff’s Office said they were linked to a murder on June 5 but provided no other details.
Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
This story was originally published June 8, 2022 at 8:06 PM.