Drizzt
Member
The Associated Press State & Local Wire
July 4, 2003, Friday, BC cycle
SECTION: State and Regional
LENGTH: 273 words
HEADLINE: Deputy shot in gun battle with motorist, who died in traffic stop
DATELINE: LUFKIN, Texas
BODY:
An East Texas sheriff's deputy was wounded and a motorist died in a gun battle during a traffic stop when a law officer's gun was seized.
Angelina County Deputy Joey Davidson was in good condition Friday evening at an area hospital with a gunshot wound to the back of the knee, according to officials with the Sheriff's Department. He was expected to be released Saturday.
Sheriff Kent Henson said Davidson stopped a motorist late Thursday on Loop 287 East and was backed up by another deputy. Davidson was interviewing the vehicle's driver alongside the road. A struggle ensued and the man "pulled one of the deputies' guns," the sheriff said.
He said the man shot Davidson in the leg and the deputy returned fire.
The motorist, identified Friday as 25-year-old Lonnie James Jefferson of Houston, was pronounced dead at the scene by Justice of the Peace R.G. Bowers. Jefferson had a Dallas County warrant on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and another in Longview for evading arrest, the Lufkin Daily News reported in Saturday editions.
The sheriff said he did not know where or how many times the motorist had been shot, but said that both weapons used were .40-caliber Glock pistols. The backup deputy did not fire any shots, he said.
"Anytime you make a stop, you never know what to expect," Henson said. He described the roadside confrontation as "real traumatic."
Davidson has been with the sheriff's office six or seven years and is an excellent deputy, Henson said.
Henson said the shootings were under investigation by Lufkin police, the FBI, Texas Rangers and the sheriff's office.
July 4, 2003, Friday, BC cycle
SECTION: State and Regional
LENGTH: 273 words
HEADLINE: Deputy shot in gun battle with motorist, who died in traffic stop
DATELINE: LUFKIN, Texas
BODY:
An East Texas sheriff's deputy was wounded and a motorist died in a gun battle during a traffic stop when a law officer's gun was seized.
Angelina County Deputy Joey Davidson was in good condition Friday evening at an area hospital with a gunshot wound to the back of the knee, according to officials with the Sheriff's Department. He was expected to be released Saturday.
Sheriff Kent Henson said Davidson stopped a motorist late Thursday on Loop 287 East and was backed up by another deputy. Davidson was interviewing the vehicle's driver alongside the road. A struggle ensued and the man "pulled one of the deputies' guns," the sheriff said.
He said the man shot Davidson in the leg and the deputy returned fire.
The motorist, identified Friday as 25-year-old Lonnie James Jefferson of Houston, was pronounced dead at the scene by Justice of the Peace R.G. Bowers. Jefferson had a Dallas County warrant on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and another in Longview for evading arrest, the Lufkin Daily News reported in Saturday editions.
The sheriff said he did not know where or how many times the motorist had been shot, but said that both weapons used were .40-caliber Glock pistols. The backup deputy did not fire any shots, he said.
"Anytime you make a stop, you never know what to expect," Henson said. He described the roadside confrontation as "real traumatic."
Davidson has been with the sheriff's office six or seven years and is an excellent deputy, Henson said.
Henson said the shootings were under investigation by Lufkin police, the FBI, Texas Rangers and the sheriff's office.
