Police say driver who crashed into side of store killed himself with gun

Mike Chapman, Redding Record Searchlight
·1 min read
A crime scene investigation van is parked next to a pickup where a man crashed into the side of Ashley Furniture and was found dead by Redding police on Saturday morning, May 28, 2022.
A crime scene investigation van is parked next to a pickup where a man crashed into the side of Ashley Furniture and was found dead by Redding police on Saturday morning, May 28, 2022.

The man who crashed into the side of a Redding furniture store last Saturday died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police announced Friday afternoon.

In addition to giving the cause of death, police identified the man as 25-year-old Michael Branson.

Redding police Capt. Ron Icely previously said Branson was wanted on a warrant stemming from a child sexual abuse case that was investigated last month.

Redding police investigate the death of a man who crashed into the wall of Ashley Furniture on Dana Drive on Saturday morning, May 28, 2022.
Redding police investigate the death of a man who crashed into the wall of Ashley Furniture on Dana Drive on Saturday morning, May 28, 2022.

Icely said police officers saw Branson just after 8 a.m. last Saturday as he was driving a 2016 Ford F-150 in the area of Canby Road and Victor Avenue.

He didn't yield for an enforcement stop and a police pursuit ended when Branson's pickup crashed into the side of Ashley Furniture on Dana Drive.

Related: Man wanted on warrants dies in crash into wall of Dana Drive furniture store

Police said a $350,000 felony warrant was issued May 27 by the Shasta County Superior Court for Branson's arrest.

"The charge stems from the ongoing sexual abuse of a 12-year-old child earlier this year," police said.

Icely said Branson was known to possess firearms and police found a firearm inside the pickup.

Police used non-lethal bean-bag rounds to shoot out the pickup's back window so a drone could get a look inside the truck where air bags had deployed. Officers determined Branson was dead after they opened the pickup's door.

Mike Chapman is an award-winning reporter and photographer for the Record Searchlight in Redding, Calif. His newspaper career spans Yreka and Eureka in Northern California and Bellingham, Wash. Support local journalism by subscribing today.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Police say driver who crashed into store had killed himself with gun