Investigators say a gang member who wounded a sheriff’s deputy before being shot to death on the Central Coast had an arsenal of weapons.
San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s deputies stopped Christopher Michael Straub as he was driving in Templeton Thursday morning. Straub fled from the vehicle. The 38 year old man then hid in a nearby cemetery. Investigators say he then ambushed officers, opening fire and wounding a deputy.
Straub then ran back to his vehicle, and was shot to death in a second gunfight. Detectives say he was a member of a white supremacist gang, and was a convicted felon who had been arrested more than two dozen times over the years. They recovered nine weapons from his vehicle, including four assault rifles.
The wounded deputy is reported to be in stable condition after undergoing an operation for a leg wound. He's being identified as Ted Lehnhoff. The 34 year old man has been a Sheriff's Deputy for 12 years.
