Additional Information regarding Clearlake Oaks murder investigation
Timeline of the events relating to the killing spree of Alan Ashmore on 10/23/2017
• A resident on Anchor Village and neighbor of Ashmore saw Ashmore leave the house midmorning on October 23, 2017.
• Richard Braden, a longtime friend of Ashmore, showed up at the Ashmore residence and was seen knocking on the front door and windows. No one came to the door and he left a short time later. He parked nearby on Anchor Village and sat in his vehicle.
• Ashmore returned to his residence and a neighbor heard a woman screaming. Ashmore engaged in an argument with a 22 year old Middletown, CA woman inside of the home. The argument escalated and Ashmore threatened the woman, while he held her at knifepoint. The woman resisted Ashmore and he shot her once in the foot, as she fled the residence. The woman ran to the neighbor’s house and was let inside.
• Ashmore went outside and asked a neighbor where the woman went. In order to help protect the woman the neighbor told Ashmore that she had left the area.
• Douglas Ashmore, the father of Alan Ashmore, came out of the Ashmore residence. Alan approached his father with a handgun and shot him. Douglas Ashmore was later found dead at the scene. Alan then pointed the gun at the neighbor and pulled the trigger. Ashmore’s weapon, a small caliber semi-automatic handgun, misfired and the witness was uninjured.
• Ashmore retrieved a 12 gauge semi-automatic shotgun from his residence and got into his white Chevrolet Tahoe. Ashmore drove a short distance to a neighbor’s house on Anchor Village. Ashmore fired at the house with the shotgun, entered the residence and again fired the shotgun at the occupants. While the occupants fled, one woman suffered non-life threatening injuries as she jumped from a window.
• Ashmore went back to his vehicle and drove further west on Anchor Village, while he fired from his vehicle at one other occupied home. He stopped at the residence of a former employer and fired one shotgun round through the back of the house. At the time of this shooting, the homeowners were not at home.
• Ashmore located Richard Braden in his vehicle parked on Anchor Village. While Braden was sitting in the driver’s seat of his vehicle, Ashmore shot him with the shotgun. Braden was later found dead at the scene.
• Ashmore encountered a single California Highway Patrol (CHP) Officer who was responding to the initial call of a shooting. Ashmore fired an unknown number of shotgun rounds at the CHP officer, striking both the patrol vehicle and the officer. The officer sustained non-life threatening injuries, as he was struck in his ballistic vest. The officer later responded with a Sheriff’s deputy, in an attempt to locate Ashmore and provide security at a local elementary school. The officer eventually sought medical aid, and he was released later that day after being treated at an area hospital.
• Ashmore fled in the white Tahoe and drove to a Chevron station located near the intersection of Highway 20 and Keys Boulevard. Ashmore went into the Chevron store armed with the shotgun and confronted a vendor. After seeing the shotgun, the vendor fled the store and Ashmore fired one shotgun round at him. The round missed the vendor who then retreated to his vehicle and retrieved a handgun, as he was licensed to carry a concealed firearm. Ashmore took a soda from the store and went back out to his vehicle. Ashmore, still armed with the shotgun, was confronted by the vendor who fired several times at Ashmore in an attempt to stop him. Ashmore was not struck by any of those shots. Several rounds impacted Ashmore’s vehicle.
• Ashmore left driving west on Highway 20. He then pulled into the parking lot of the Power Mart, located on Highway 20 near Foothill Boulevard in Clearlake Oaks. Ashmore entered the store, again armed with a firearm. He robbed the store of merchandise, including cigarettes and a lighter. Ashmore engaged in another altercation with an unknown citizen prior to leaving.
• Ashmore left driving east on Highway 20 before turning on High Valley Road. In an attempt to aid in his escape, Ashmore lit wildfires fires as he drove up High Valley Road. Those fires were later controlled by Northshore and CalFire firefighters.
• Ashmore drove to the Brassfield Winery where he brandished a firearm at a person at that location. Lake County Sheriff’s deputies caught up to him as he continued on High Valley Road. Ashmore fled from the deputies, and the pursuit continued west on High Valley Road. Sheriff’s deputies, CHP Officers, and a Lakeport Police Officer positioned themselves at the intersection of Bartlett Springs Road and High Valley Road, in order to prevent Ashmore from escaping. When Ashmore arrived at the road block, he surrendered to Sheriff’s deputies without further incident. He was in possession of a Remington 1200 12 gauge semi-automatic shotgun, a Raven arms .25 caliber semi-automatic pistol, and numerous rounds of ammunition.
• Detectives are continuing to piece together information in order to determine the motivation for Ashmore’s crime spree.
• The homicide victims were identified as 85 year old Douglas Ashmore, and 64 year old Richard Braden of Clearlake Oaks.
Lieutenant Norm Taylor
Lake County Sheriff's Office
1220 Martin Street
Lakeport, CA 95453
707-262-4082 Office
707-262-4220 Fax
[email protected]
Address/Location
Lake County CA Sheriff's Department
1220 Martin St
Lakeport, CA 95453
Contact
Emergency: 9-1-1
Non-emergencies: 707-263-2690