SANTA MARIA - The grim scene on the southbound lanes of Highway 101 near Buellton Monday afternoon was a sad ending for 47 year old Matthew Berg, a man who by many accounts had a troubled life since his days growing up in a modest home on a quiet street in Lompoc.
An elderly man at the Lompoc home who identified himself as Mr. Berg declined to talk about his son to Central Coast News.
One neighbor we spoke with remembers Matt Berg as a being bully and for his repeated run-ins with police for such things as petty theft.
As an adult, police records reveal Matt Berg continued to run afoul of the law in Lompoc and in Santa Maria with citations and arrests for various offenses including burglary and drug charges.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department says a deputy was trying to stop Berg on Monday afternoon on suspicion of burglary at a home in the Santa Ynez Valley.
The sheriff's department says the deputy involved in the deadly shooting opened fire after Berg refused to stop driving his car in the wrong direction on Highway 101 near Buellton and in a threatening manner directly at the deputy.
What Matt Berg was doing in the Santa Ynez Valley on Monday and why he refused to surrender may not be known for awhile.
The Sheriff's Department says it will reveal little more information as it completes its investigation of the shooting.
It then plans to turn the findings over to the County District Attorney's office to see if the shooting of Matt Berg was both lawful and justified.
Most Santa Barbara County Sheriff Patrol cars are equipped with cameras mounted on the dashboard.
However it's unknown if the deputy involved in the deadly shooting of Matt Berg had turned his camera on.
That deputy is now on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the shooting investigation.
