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Attention
All Officers, All Stations: WANTED FOR MURDER.........
by
N. Ray Maxie |
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was a late Sunday night in mid September, about 11:30 and my patrol
partner said that he wasn't feeling well and asked me to drop him
off at his house. He would go off duty for the day a little early.
We had been working since one that afternoon and were due to terminate
our shift at midnight. I was ready to go home too. But, just a few
minutes after I dropped him off and as I was preparing to close out
my day, there came a broadcast on my State Police radio. The broadcast
was coming from our Texas DPS District Headquarters base radio station
in Tyler, Texas. The radio broadcast said..... |
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"Attention all officers, all stations; wanted
for murder by the Houston Police Department, occurring on Scott Street
at approximately 6:45 PM this date, Elviron Monroe Lewis, Jr., bm,
5'10", weighing 185 Lbs., and driving a blue and white 1958 Chevrolet
4 door sedan. Subject may be headed to relatives at either of two
locations, Lubbock, Texas, or Paris, Texas. CONSIDER ARMED AND DANGEROUS."
(End broadcast) |
The
broadcast gave the license plate number of the suspect's automobile
and said that a small child, age 5 or 6, might be riding with him.
So I quickly figured;... it's about a 4 1/2 to 5 hour drive from here
to Houston and if this suspect is going to Paris tonight, then he
will be traveling north on Highway 19 right here through Sulphur Springs.
So, he should be getting close to me right about now. I thought, "maybe
I can get this one tonight. It has been a really quite shift thus
far."
As I was patrolling alone late at night (which wasn't really a rare
occurrence, but sometimes scary), I had to move quickly if I was going
to have a good chance of intercepting this murder suspect right here
tonight.
I proceeded quickly out Highway 19 heading south out of town, crossing
over I-30. As I proceed south I was looking at every license plate
number as my headlights reflected on each front license plate. After
traveling about a mile down Highway 19, the fourth car, a blue and
white 1958 Chevrolet, reflected the license plate number I was looking
for. Eureka!! That was it!! The apprehension of a possibly armed felony
suspect was eminent. The heart pumps faster! The adrenaline starts
to flow!! CONSIDER ARMED AND DANGEROUS!! You begin to get seriously
prepared.
I quickly swung my patrol car out onto the right shoulder and made
a U-turn. Pulling up behind the suspect vehicle, I again confirmed
the vehicle description and the license plate number. A hit for sure!!
I would like to get a backup police unit in the vicinity soon.
Highway 19 at that time turned into West Main Street into downtown
Sulphur Springs. I slowly trailed the suspect until we entered the
Sulphur Springs city limits. All the time, I was advising Tyler DPS
radio and the Sulphur Springs Police Department radio, that the broadcast
put out just a few minutes ago, I now had the suspect under surveillance.
And requested the SPPD to provide me a back up police unit on W. Main
St. Now only a short distance west of the county Courthouse Square
and just past the SSPD building, I met their police car. At that time
I turned on my red lights and began pulling the suspect car over.
He stopped. Just in case he still had with him the high powered rifle
used in the murder, before getting out of my patrol car I secured
my own heavy fire power. Along with the SSPD, we requested that the
suspect exit his vehicle and put his hands on top of the car. He wisely
offered no resistance. As reported, the young child was in the car.
There were no weapons in the car and he advised us that he was headed
to Paris, TX. Upon searching his pockets, one 30-30-caliber carbine
cartridge was found on him. They said he had gone to his place of
employment, broke into his boss's office and took the 30-30 rifle.
They said he went and committed the murder and took custody of his
child. He then returned the rifle to his boss's office and left town.
It seemed to be a typical domestic triangle. He said that this child
was the only one that belonged to him.
This suspect was held at the Sulphur Springs PD until Houston officers
arrived to take him back to Houston for formal charges. The child
was placed with the local Children's Protective Service to be turned
over to relatives later.
The next day was Monday, my regular day off. I went fishing on Lake
Tawakoni down in Rain County. When I told my partner what had happened
after I let him out at home and he just said, "I was really sleeping
soundly."
A couple or three months later I was required to travel to Houston
to the Harris County Courthouse for this defendant's court proceedings
on murder charges. The judge sentenced him to 25 years in the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice. While in Houston, I visited some old
friends and former work associates that I hadn't seen in a great while.
Houston had become a place I cared only to visit occasionally.
This case was an easy one. |
©
N. Ray Maxie
piddlinacres@consolidated.net
"Ramblin' Ray" May
1, 2005 |
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