Armed Suspect Shot Dead By Law Enforcement In Sonora

SONORA (CBS13) — Deputies shot and killed an armed suspect who pointed a revolver at them after leading a high-speed chase through Sonora over the weekend, the Tuolumne County Sheriff's Office said Monday.

Fred Westmoreland, 51, was shot multiple times and was pronounced dead at the scene. He was found to have been in possession of at least four firearms including the one he pointed at deputies.

At around 7:05 p.m. on Saturday, dispatchers received reports of an intoxicated man who crashed his vehicle into the front of a 7-Eleven in Twain Harte, which is just a bit northeast of Sonora.

Cal Fire responded to the scene first and reported back to the sheriff's office that the driver, later identified as Westmoreland, was intoxicated and armed with a revolver, authorities said.

As deputies were responding from Sonora, more reports came in of a blacked-out vehicle with no lights having run two other vehicles off westbound Highway 108.

Despite authorities' attempts to pull him over, Westmoreland reached speeds of up to 95 miles per hour and led one pursuing deputy to the Edgemont Acres Road area of Sonora, where Westmoreland pulled into a driveway and confronted the deputy with a gun.

The sheriff's office said that deputy and a responding California Highway Patrol officer fired at Westmoreland, striking him multiple times.

The deputy suffered minor injuries but it is unclear if they were shot.

Westmoreland's loaded revolver containing two live rounds of ammunition and four spent casings was recovered at the scene. The three other firearms recovered from his vehicle were one loaded 12-gauge shotgun, a loaded 30-06 bolt action rifle and a loaded .410 shotgun with a sawed-off barrel, authorities said.

Drug paraphernalia and suspected methamphetamine were also found inside Westmorland's vehicle.