The Sheriff’s Office confirms the man shot and killed in Inyokern was 34-year-old fugitive Benjamin Ashley, who was wanted for murder, kidnapping and for wounding two SWAT deputies that were searching for him. Sheriff’s spokesman Ray Pruitt says Ashley was shot around 5pm Saturday.

Sheriff Donny Youngblood says they used fingerprints to identify Benjamin Ashley, with DNA and other evidence also linking him to the crimes that led to an 18-day manhunt in Weldon involving 20 agencies. He says Ashley refused deputies’ orders Saturday to stop and pointed a revolver at them. Ashley had three other guns with him, including two that belonged to murdered Tehachapi dentist David Markiewitz.

The Coroner’s Office says the 34-year-old transient died of gunshot wounds in a confrontation with sheriff’s deputies.