The Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department released video Monday afternoon of a man’s crime spree that ultimately ended with him being shot by a deputy in Newman.
The released video includes doorbell cameras, surveillance footage, helicopter shots and body camera footage.
According to the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department, Jason Benson Dingler, 43, of Merced, started his crime spree by burglarizing a home in the 3500 block of W. Keyes Road in Keyes around 1 a.m. on Sept. 22. The doorbell footage from that incident shows a shirtless Dingler kick the door in and enter the home. At the residence he stole a handgun, ammunition and a change of clothes.
Dingler allegedly used the weapon to carjack a truck at 5:26 p.m. in the 5100 block of Muncy Road. In that footage, the homeowner comes out of the house to find Dingler around the corner of the porch pointing the gun at him. Dingler is donned in all black and tells the man that he is “active military first battalion second corporal United States military” and to be “a good civilian” and get him the keys to a pickup truck parked at the residence.
Stanislaus Sheriff Jeff Dirkse said the investigators found Dingler has had no prior military service.
The homeowner says the keys are in a shop behind the house and he goes inside the home to put on shoes, with Dingler following behind him with the gun pointed at the homeowner. Dinger tells the man that if he calls the cops he is “dead.”
Additional footage shows Dingler follow the man out to the shop, continually scoping out the scene with the handgun pointed, as if he was playing a video game.
Six minutes after the carjacking, an employee of the One Stop Market in Grayson reported an armed man stole alcohol and fled. His description matched that of the carjacking suspect. The store footage shows Dingler stroll to the beer cooler, pull out two cases and then walk out of the store with the gun tucked into a holster on his right hip.
A California Highway Patrol officer spotted Dingler driving the stolen truck moving southbound on Highway 33 at 5:43 p.m. Multiple deputies joined in the pursuit to assist in an attempt to stop the driver, however, Dingler led them on a high-speed pursuit for 11 miles. Helping to track the suspect overhead was Air101, the Sheriff’s Office helicopter, as Dingler continued fleeing on Highway 33 at speeds up to 85 mph.
At 5:59 p.m., Dingler sideswiped another car as he passed it, causing the stolen pickup to leave the roadway and crash at the edge of an orchard near Lundy Road outside Newman. Footage from Air101 shows the crash and Dingler running through the orchard. He turns and fires several shots at law enforcement.
The helicopter crew provided updates to deputies on Dingler’s movements through the orchard. At one point he was seen dropping onto his belly to fire again at deputies, missing them but striking a patrol car. For the next several minutes, he was observed holding the gun and drawing closer to the deputies.
As Dingler continued advancing, at 6:26 p.m. two deputies fired at him, striking him once. The bullet dropped Dingler and deputies continued issuing multiple commands for his surrender, but he remained uncooperative with the gun within his reach.
Deputies advanced on Dingler with armored vehicles and took him into custody 21 minutes later. They immediately began rendering medical aid until he could be transported to a hospital by an ambulance crew. Dingler was listed as being in stable condition.
The stolen firearm was recovered and believed to be the same used in the carjacking and market robbery.
Dingler was charged with five counts of attempted murder of a peace officer, seven counts of assault on a peace officer with a firearm, two counts of residential burglary, carjacking, kidnapping, robbery, assault with a firearm, evading a peace officer, hit and run, possession of a stolen vehicle, brandishing a firearm and being a prohibited person in possession of ammunition and a firearm.
The full video can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9WfZRMGdq4.
