MERCED (AP) — Manteca resident Randulph Rodas, 35, died after Merced County deputies used a stun gun and released a dog to try to subdue him.

Sheriff Mark Pazin says the incident involving Randulph Rodas began early Thursday morning when authorities responded to reports of a man fighting with a homeowner in the driveway of a home near Merced.

Pazin says a deputy tried unsuccessfully to subdue Rodas with a stun gun. A second deputy then released the dog, but officials say Rodas was able to toss the dog aside.

Rodas stopped breathing when he was eventually taken into custody. He was pronounced dead after being taken to a hospital. An autopsy was planned to try to determine the cause of death.

The incident began when Rodas crashed his vehicle into a pole Thursday at 6:15 p.m. in south Merced and continued driving. Deputies said he proceeded south on Highway 59 until he crashed into a fence at the corner of Dickenson Ferry Road where he got into a fight with a homeowner.

Deputies contend Rodas at one point turned on an officer while welding a piece of wood.

Rodas had recently moved from Hayward to Manteca.