Kern County Sheriff’s deputies from the Ridgecrest substation responded to the 100 block of S. Goss Rd. yesterday around 10:30 P.M. for a male suspect who had assaulted two victims with a metal pipe.
When deputies arrived they located two victims suffering from minor injuries. The suspect, 53 year old Thomas Pitt, had fled in a vehicle prior to the deputies arrival. A short time later, a deputy located the vehicle driving near Flores and Down Street. The deputy stopped the vehicle and determined the vehicle was being driven by a female and Pitt was a passenger in the vehicle.
The female driver exited the vehicle and was detained. Pitt then exited the vehicle and held a knife to his throat. Pitt lunged at the deputies with the knife several times and asked the deputies to shoot him. He then began walking into a nearby neighborhood still holding the knife to his throat. Deputies followed the suspect and advised him to drop the knife and surrender, but he refused.
As the deputies continued to follow Pitt, he would periodically turn and walk towards them with the knife as he continued asking them to shoot him. Deputies requested assistance from the Ridgecrest Police Department. A Ridgecrest police officer responded and was able to deploy a less than lethal bean bag projectile, striking Pitt. Pitt then dropped the knife and was taken into custody without further incident.
Pitt was arrested for attempt murder, assault with a deadly weapon, and felony resisting arrest. He was booked into the Sheriff’s Office jail and is being held on $1,065,000 bail.
-courtesy Kern County Sheriff's Office
