Suspect Identified in Shooting of Montague County Sheriff's Deputy
By: David Gonzalez
Updated: March 22, 2013
A tangled web of murder in Colorado could be linked to crimes that played out on Thursday morning beginning in Texoma.
Authorities in Colorado say 28-year-old Evan Spencer Ebel could be the same man involved in Thursday's chase and gun battle, covering parts of Montague and Wise counties, and the murder of a high-ranking official in Colorado.
Ebel is a parolee and has ties to a white supremacist prison gang.
Authorities believe Ebel is responsible for killing Colorado's Department of Corrections Tom Clements.
On March 19, police say Clements was shot in the chest and killed instantly, after opening the front door of his home.
On March 17, the body of 27-yearold Nathan Leon, a pizza delivery driver, was found in Golden, Colorado, outside denver.
A black Cadillac with Colorado license plates, involved in Thursday's chase and shootout, matched the car seen at Clements murder scene and investigators say they also found a shirt that's part of a Domino's Pizza uniform in the car.
Today, 27-year-old Montague County Sheriff's Deputy James Boyd made a traffic stop of a black Cadillac with colorado plates around 11 a.m. on Highway 287 near Bowie before shots ran out.
Montague County Sheriff Paul Cunningham says Boyd, a three year veteran of department, was struck twice in the chest and one bullet grazed his head before the suspect took off heading toward Decatur.
"He'd actually made it to the window of the vehicle when the suspect shot him," Sheriff Cunningham says. "Thank God he was wearing a bullet proof vest and it took the main blunt of the fire."
Boyd was transported to Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth where he underwent surgery for his non-life threatening injuries and is expected to make a full recovery.
According to Wise County Sheriff David Walker, Ebel led law enforcement on a chase and shootout on Highway 287 for about 35 minutes.
The chase ended when Ebel crashed into an 18-wheeler.
Sheriff Walker says Ebel got out of the Cadillac and continued shooting at law enforcement.
During the gun battle, Ebel was shot.
He was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital and was eventually placed on life support.
Cunningham and other law enforcement agencies are glad no other officers were hurt.
"I kind of watched James grow up," Sheriff Cunningham says. "I knew him as a kid and as he was growing up so it kind of hit home."
He adds, "This is part of the job. We face danger everyday and we just have to do what we can to provide the training for the deputies to keep this from happening."
Sheriff Walker says many law enforcement played a factor in ensuring no one else was injured.
"We all work as one law enforcement agency," Sheriff Walker says. "We pretty much all know each other. It worked very well."
The Wise County Sheriff's Office urges anyone who may have seen the shootout and chase on Thursday to call the Wise County Sheriff's Office or the Decatur Police Department.
Sheriff Cunningham says Wichita and Clay County deputies are assisting Montague County so deputies will have a chance to see Boyd in the hospital.
