Sedgwick and Butler County lawmen shed more light on deputy shooting
A 33-year-old Sedgwick County Sheriff's deputy is in stable condition after he was hit by shotgun pellets during a search in Butler County, near Potwin.
The deputy tried to stop a white Cadillac for traffic violations near 101st Street North and I-135, which sparked a high speed chase into Butler County.
The deputy saw that the man and woman in the Cadillac had jumped out. He was hit in the right eye and right side by a shotgun blast while searching for them in a rural area.
Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter and Butler County Sheriff Kelly Herzet gave an update on the chase and shooting during a briefing late Tuesday morning in El Dorado. Easter said the injured deputy mans a K-9 unit, and he has been with the sheriff's department for five years.
Easter said the deputy could be released from the hospital soon, but doctors are unsure about the long-term outlook for his right eye.
Herzet said the chase suspects fired shots at his deputies and other officers as they moved into the area, but no one else was hit.
A Kansas Highway Patrol trooper fired a shot that struck the male suspect in the chest, and he was taken to a Wichita hospital in serious condition. The suspect was identified as 35-year-old Jason Perez, who was on parole after a previous drug-related conviction. A 27-year-old woman, identified as Clara Crosser, was arrested.
Both suspects are from Gardner, Kan. Easter said the two had been staying at a hotel in Wichita.
Easter said 10 agencies were involved in the manhunt that followed the chase. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is working with Sedgwick and Butler County officials to gather more information.
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