San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies shot and killed a camouflage-clad gunman on Monday 10 September 2007 during a shootout with three people protecting a marijuana crop in the mountains north of Fontana.[1][2] A manhunt for the two others continued into the night, with deputies searching the rugged terrain on foot and in four-wheelers, until the search was called off with no arrests made.[1][2]
The shots were fired as deputies working with the United States Forest Service were preparing to destroy a large marijuana field near Lytle Creek in the San Gabriel Mountains, an area of steep hills and manzanita, sheriff’s spokeswoman Jodi Miller said.[1][2] At least three people dressed in camouflage and armed with automatic weapons were camping at the site and fired on the deputies as they approached the field at about 7.30am, said Sgt. Rick Ells of the California Highway Patrol.[1][2] The deputies returned fire and fatally wounded one gunman, who had climbed up a hill apparently to seek a better shooting position; he was taken to a ranger station, where he was pronounced dead.[1][2]
About 40 deputies aided by a helicopter searched for the two other gunmen, and highway patrol officers closed Lytle Creek Road to aid the search.[1][2] The authorities estimated the field held about 2,500 marijuana plants with a street value of $6 million.[1][2] A Forest Service spokeswoman said marijuana had been found in the Lytle Creek area before, but this was the first time deputies had been shot at there.[1][2]
