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I remember this guy. He used to be regular fixture at the store, which is the most popular gun shop in the area. This is really bizarro.
Background story
Updated story
Background story
A man who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the course of a shootout with Beaumont police Wednesday was set to go to trial in less than two weeks for attempting to kill a coworker in March 2004.
James Thomas Hughes, a 38-year-old Beaumont man, shot himself in the head and was not killed by police officers during Wednesday's shootout and chase that ended near Tyrrell Park, according to Thursday's preliminary autopsy report.
Hughes was shot several times by officers, but none of the wounds were fatal, according to Jefferson County forensic pathologist Tommy Brown. The exact number of bullet wounds will not be known until the autopsy is completed.
Although a Lake Charles, La., psychiatrist last year recommended Hughes not be allowed to own firearms, he was traveling with a cache of loaded assault weapons and ammunition in a pickup. He ran up on a law enforcement drug checkpoint on Interstate 10 about noon Wednesday and immediately fled.
In the ensuing chase, Hughes fired a pistol at officers through the back sliding window of the truck's cab, police said. Two Beaumont police officers in one car and a Jefferson County sheriff's deputy in another returned fire from their respective vehicles.
The chase ended in a driveway in the quiet residential neighborhood of Tyrrell Park Road. Officers reported Hughes pulled into the driveway, apparently chosen at random, and began shooting with a semiautomatic AR-15 assault rifle.
Hughes, who had been dishonorably discharged from the U.S. Marine Corps for fighting, was out on a $25,000 bond issued in Calcasieu Parish, La., in May 2004.
The charge against him was attempted murder, a second-degree felony.
Hughes was employed by Southwestern Graphite in DeQuincy, La., on March 18, 2004, and during a 6 p.m. break from work, he was in the break room with coworkers.
Case-related paperwork released Thursday by the Calcasieu Parish District Attorney's Office said Cosmus Walker, who had worked at the plant about a month, was laughing with another worker.
Hughes, who had worked at Southwestern Graphite about two months, commented that Walker must be smoking marijuana because he was laughing.
Walker imitated Hughes' voice, which caused all the men to laugh, including Hughes, Walker told police.
A few minutes passed before Hughes slammed his fists on the table and stood up, Walker said in a statement to police released by the DA.
"I'm a grown man," Hughes told Walker. "Don't mess with me like that or I will beat you unbelievably."
Another worker pulled Hughes aside and the men returned to work. Hughes told the coworker that he didn't like black people, according to statements in the case file.
Back at work, a coworker noticed Hughes was waiting for the right opportunity to hit Walker with a shovel. The men's boss separated the two when he became aware of the situation, according to statements.
At an 8 p.m. work break, Walker was walking back from his car when he heard the sound of a shotgun shell being chambered. He turned to see Hughes pointing a gun at him.
He ran and saw the flash of a shotgun shell hit a gatepost inches in front of him.
He continued running, did a combat roll and heard another blast as he ran past the break room, he told police.
Other employees were crouched on the ground, ducking for cover and calling out to Hughes "What are you doing?"
A third blast rang out as Walker ducked for cover behind the plant, according to the statements.
When Walker was out of sight, Hughes turned and fired two shots into Walker's car.
He then got into his truck and drove away, calmly stopping at stop signs and using his blinker before turning, police were told.
Walker, now 21, was unavailable for comment Thursday because he is serving in Iraq in the National Guard, his mother, Valerie Jack, said.
Hughes told Dr. James Anderson of Lake Charles that he had no history of hospitalizations, no suicidal or homicidal thoughts and no psychotic thoughts.
However, Anderson recommended that Hughes receive therapy, attend anger management classes and not be allowed to possess firearms.
Hughes paid for anger-management classes through the Samaritan Counseling Center in Beaumont in August 2004.
He had been arrested in 1993 by the Beaumont Police Department for the misdemeanor offense of unlawfully carrying a weapon, according to documents from the Calcasieu Parish District Attorney's Office.
The two Beaumont police officers involved in the Wednesday shooting are Officer Gerald LaChance and Officer Jerry Lowe, both of whom are on paid administrative leave until the end of the investigation.
LaChance is a 16-year veteran in the department who has been in the Narcotics Interdiction Unit for 15 years and an active member of the SWAT team for 14 years.
Lowe, an 18-year department veteran in the Narcotics/Street Crimes Division, has been a SWAT team member for 16 years. He also is a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army and was mobilized after Sept. 11, 2001, as the leader of a special operations team. He has since returned to duty at the department.
Both men are receiving the mental health counseling required by department policy, said Beaumont police officer and spokeswoman Carman Apple.
The Jefferson County sheriff's deputy involved in the shooting is Sgt. Greg Fountain, who has been in law enforcement for 17 years and with the sheriff's office for 11 years. He has spent most of that time in the Drug Interdiction Unit.
He also has been placed on paid administrative leave until the findings of the investigation are reported and is receiving counseling, said Deputy Brent Weaver.
The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, Beaumont police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are all participating in the investigation.
Updated story
KFDM News has learned the gun shop where James Hughes worked is under investigation tonight for possible federal violations. Bart Mora with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms says the investigation relates to Hughes' employment at the store. ATF agents along with Beaumont Police Detectives were at Shooters Supply investigating Hughes' connection to the store. A senior staff member at the store says Hughes worked there on and off from 2002 until his death Wednesday. Hughes was out of jail on a $25,000 bond for attempted second degree murder in Calcasieu Parish, Lousiana in 2004. The senior staff member of Shooters Supply asked we not use his name but said, "We were aware of the charge against him. We seldom run thorough background checks. We didn't do a background because it was an unusual circumstance because we knew the young man. He freely divulged his problem." The Calcasieu Parish District Attorney's Office says there were no conditions of bail for Hughes. Again, federal agents have not determined whether Shooters Supply has done anything wrong. Thomas Lorenzi says Hughes had an appointment Wednesday with a psychiatrist in Lake Charles but called and cancelled. Hughes' father says his son served six years in the Air Force and four years in the Marines. Hank Hughes says his son was dishonorably discharged from the Marines for getting into a fight with a lower ranking officer. In a telephone interview, James Hughes' attorney said, "Jimmy was a high achiever in the military. He was part of the Presidential Security Detail and would stand outside of Air Force One. My recollection is he did have combat experience. Thomas Lorenzi also said, "He was never able to readjust to civilian life. We knew he had readjustment syndrome. He also went to anger management classes." Lorenzi added, "The military has a lot of casualties you don't see on the battlefield. He decided to end his life the way he lived his life, and that was in combat. No question he planned it. No doubt in my mind he was looking to end his life. His behavior is too similar to what we've seen in other cases. Lorenzi says he was planning to argue Hughes had post traumatic stress disorder when he was to be tried on attempted second degree murder charges September 6th. Lorenzi said the case probably wouldn't have gone to trial. According to the Calcasieu Parish District Attorney's Office, on March 18, 2004 Hughes got into an argument with a co-worker at Southwestern Graphite in Louisiana. According to prosecutors, Hughes thought the co-worker was making fun of him. Prosecutors say Hughes went to his truck, got a shotgun and fired shots at the co-worker. Regarding the incident, Lorenzi said, "He still sees life through the eyes of a soldier. He saw an ambush being laid out. He tried so hard, but no matter how hard he tried he still lived in a military world and we were all civilians."
