Man killed by Kings Co officer pointed a loaded and cocked gun at deputy: Sheriff's Office

A 23-year-old man was killed in a deputy-involved shooting in Kings County on Thursday night.

A chase started around 10 p.m. after deputies spotted Blayne Erwin Morris on the outskirts of Lemoore.

His description matched an alert put out by the Fresno County Sheriff's Office just hours earlier.

Deputies attempted to pull his Dodge pickup over but the suspect took off and eventually ditched the vehicle and hid in a field at Avenal Cutoff Road and Gale Avenue.

It ended a half hour later, when deputies say Morris tried to run away.

Several other agencies joined the search, along with a CHP helicopter, and found him lying down trying to hide in a nearby field.

When deputies tried to take him into custody, they say he pulled out a handgun and pointed it at a deputy.

The gun was loaded, cocked and ready to be fired. Another deputy saw this and fired at him, according to the Kings County Sheriff's Office.

The sheriff's office says Morris was on a multi-day crime spree in and around Fresno and San Benito counties, having stolen at least two trucks, a trailer and multiple pieces of farm- and other agriculture-related equipment.

Authorities say in one incident, he stole a rifle and used it to shoot at a property owner who had interrupted one of the crimes in San Benito County.

Morris is from the Coalinga and Watsonville areas of Fresno and San Benito County.