BUELLTON, Calif.- The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department has released the name of the man shot and killed Monday in the officer involved shooting, as 47 year old Matthew Lyell Berg of Santa Maria.
Berg led deputies and the CHP on a dangerous pursuit down Highway 246 Monday, that ended with the suspect being shot and killed on Highway 101.
The end of a deadly law enforcement pursuit that began with a 911 call from a woman in the Santa Ynez Valley who said she came home to find a burglar inside her house.
Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Deputies responded and the chase through the valley began.
"At some point an adult male was observed leaving the home, getting in a car and taking off. We followed this car, CHP also joined in this pursuit. The suspect at one point got onto the Avenue of the Flags and made their way all the way to Santa Rosa Road south of Buellton, and then double-backed and then came up northbound on the southbound lanes driving against traffic," says Drew Sugars, Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department.
A sheriff's deputy and CHP officer then drove up on the suspect to try and cut him off.
"The suspect rammed our deputy's vehicle, at that point the deputy did open fire. He shot the lone occupant of that vehicle, not sure if he was inside or outside of the car, still trying to determine those facts. Shots were fired and there is one male who is deceased, no deputies and no citizens were hurt in this exchange," says Sugars.
The southbound lanes of Highway 101 in the area were closed for several hours to allow for another sheriff's department crime scene investigation.
