WISE COUNTY MESSENGER, Decatur, Texas, Saturday, March 23, 2013
3A
JOE DUTY/WCMESSENGER
UNDER FIRE — John St. Augustine, a inspector with El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, answers questions at a press conference in the Decatur Civic Center Friday at noon. Many speculate Evan S. Ebel was connected to two murders that took place earlier this week in Colorado, including that of a pizza delivery driver and the director of Colorado’s Department of Correction.
Suspect: Spree began in Colorado Continued from page 1A ing at the end of a high-speed pursuit that started in Bowie. He died the following day in a Fort Worth hospital. “There is an autopsy going on at Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office,” Wise County Sheriff David Walker said. “It is expected to take several days to complete.” Steve Johnson, assistant director of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, said the black Cadillac with Colorado plates driven by Ebel matched the description of a vehicle witnesses saw in the Monument, Colo., neighborhood at the time Clements was shot and killed. The vehicle also matched the type of vehicle driven by Leon before he was found murdered. The black Cadillac driven by Ebel had two different sets of license plates on it. Johnson declined
to comment further. Ebel, a Colorado parolee, was allegedly a member of a white supremacist prison gang known as the 211s. The Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization based in Montgomery, Ala., that keeps track of hate crimes and groups, reports that the 211s are a Colorado-based prison gang formed mainly to protect each other in prison. Ebel grew up in the small Colorado town of Wheat Ridge and spent most of his adult life in Colorado prisons. He was convicted of his first felony robbery at age 19, and was convicted of another robbery a year later, followed by a felony assault conviction and an assault on a prison guard in 2008. He spent most of the last five years in solitary confinement. His father, Jack Ebel, is an oil and gas lawyer in Denver.
The Denver Post reported Friday that a Domino’s pizza bag had been discovered in the Cadillac being driven by Ebel. However, the FBI, El Paso County Sheriff’s Office and Wise County Sheriff’s office all declined to comment on any items found inside the vehicle. An Associated Press report released Friday said shell casings found in Wise County matched the make and caliber of those found outside the home of Clements. “This is still an active and open investigation,” said Inspector John St. Augustine with El Paso County Sheriff’s Office in Colorado. “Over the last 60 hours our deputies and investigators have been working around the clock looking into leads in the murder of our director of department of corrections Tom Clements. “We can’t talk about specif-
WCMESSENGER
FULL COURT PRESS — Steve Johnson, assistant director of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, addresses a panel of journalists at a press conference Friday at the Decatur Civic Center. To watch all videos go to www.wcmess.com/conf. ics of what evidence has been found because this is an ongoing investigation.” He thanked Walker “for al-
lowing us to come down from Colorado and working with us and letting us shadow them.” Johnson echoed the senti-
ment. “This is a strong community with an outstanding sheriff’s office,” he said.
Deputies: Shootings bookend 24-minute chase Continued from page 2A
in Fort Worth. He was braindead, kept alive only by masheriff’s office, he turned chines that night. By Friday heedlessly into the intersec- morning he was declared detion at U.S. 380, crashing into ceased. Investigators surroundthe side of a rock hauler. The roof of the Cadillac crumpled ed the scene with yellow crime tape, which and the hood whipped in the burst into flames. wind under a gray But Ebel wasn’t How to help Local law ensky as crime scene finished. “He jumped forcement is asking investigators took note of every deout of the car and anyone who wittail. Members of started firing at nessed the wreck the Wise County deputies,” Hoskins or saw Ebel firing Sheriff’s Office, said. “They re- at officers during State Troopers, turned fire, and he the pursuit yesterday to call Wise Texas Rangers, hit the ground.” FBI, Decatur poNo officers were County Sheriff’s lice, Wise County hit, but a bullet Office at 940-627Medics and Decafrom a deputy 5971 or Decatur tur Fire Departstruck Ebel in the Police Department ment all assisted head, ending his at 940-627-1500. at the scene. rampage. The driver of the “(Ebel) had no rock hauler was intention of getting out of this situation uninjured. He unknowingly helped end a chase that put alive,” Hoskins added. He was taken to Wise Re- many lives in danger. Only one weapon, a handgional Health System and from there flown by helicopter gun, was found on Ebel. Walker said his deputies to John Peter Smith Hospital
JOE DUTY/WCMESSENGER
TOTAL CARNAGE — After Evan S. Ebel rammed a car into the side of a rock hauler, shattered glass and parts of the 1991 Cadillac spilled across the intersection of U.S. 380 and U.S. West Business 380. involved in the fire fight will be debriefed and will receive any counseling they may need from the Sheriff’s Office chaplain. “We’re fortunate that all the law enforcement here in North Texas work together closely and in unison,” Walker said. “Other police departments, Bridgeport and Fort
Worth, have called to offer us any support they can.” Deputy Boyd was flown to Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth. Cunningham said he was talking as of Friday morning and surrounded by friends, family and fellow officers. “Our deputy that was injured yesterday is doing
great,” Cunningham said. “I talked to his mom and dad this morning. He was sitting up in bed and talking.” He said Boyd initiated the traffic stop as part of a drug interdiction program. U.S. 287 is a pipeline for transporting drugs, and Boyd looks for suspicious vehicles. Cunningham’s eyes watered,
and pain etched his face when discussing Boyd’s injuries. The sheriff is a lifetime friend of Boyd’s father and has known the deputy since he was a baby. From the time Ebel shot Boyd in Bowie to the moment a bullet from a Wise County deputy ended his life, only 24 minutes passed.