Holly MatkinDodge City, KS – Three sheriff’s deputies were shot and a trooper was bitten by a K9 while attempting to apprehend two suspects in connection with an Arizona double homicide on Monday.
The incident began at approximately 9 a.m. on Jan. 23, when Clark County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) spotted a blue Toyota Tundra traveling through Minneola, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) said in a press release.
The vehicle matched the description of a Toyota allegedly involved in a double homicide that took place in Phoenix, Arizona, so deputies attempted to pull over the unidentified female driver, according to the KBI.
But instead of stopping, the woman took off northbound on U.S. Highway 283 into Ford County along with her passenger, 39-year-old Leroy Malone, police said.
Ford County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) deputies and members of the Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP) joined the chase as it continued through Ford County.
Troopers and deputies were able to deploy stop sticks to help slow the fleeing vehicle before a CCSO deputy forced the suspects’ truck into a ditch using a precision immobilization technique (PIT) maneuver.
The pursuit came to an end near the Kansas Department of Transportation building located in the 11000-block of East Wyatt Earp Boulevard in Dodge City, KAKE reported.
After the vehicle came to a stop, at least one of the suspects got into a shootout with deputies, according to the KBI.
Malone was fatally shot during the exchange of gunfire and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The female driver was rushed to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita with multiple gunshot wounds, where she was listed in critical condition.
Three deputies were hit by gunfire during the shootout, the KBI said.
One CCSO deputy was shot two times and was transported to a hospital in Wichita, where he was listed in serious condition.
One FCSO deputy was admitted to the intensive care unit of a Wichita hospital due to “serious gunshot wounds,” according to the KBI.
A second FCSO deputy was treated and released at an area hospital after being wounded by shrapnel.
A KHP trooper was rushed to the hospital with bite wounds from a K9 and underwent surgery, according to the KBI.
The trooper has since been listed in good condition.
🔴KANSAS #VIDEO OFFICER-INVOLVED SHOOTING IN DODGE CITY!
3 deputies have been shot, a Trooper bitten by a K9, and a passenger in the suspect's vehicle was shot.
Suspect killed. #BreakingNews #UltimaHora #DodgeCity #Shooting #Tiroteo📹 KAKE News pic.twitter.com/d1ncYUt80I
— loveworld (@LoveWorld_Peopl) January 23, 2023
Witness Jesus Soto said he was driving into Dodge City on Monday when he saw a pickup “take a curve extremely fast without stopping,” KSAZ reported.
“After that you see like eight other patrol vehicles right behind them with the lights on flashing,” Soto told the news outlet. “We rolled down the windows and you can hear the police like scream ‘get on the floor’ ‘open the door’ ’cause the guy was still in the vehicle.”
That’s when police approached Soto and told him to get to a safer location.
“Patrol officer came up to us and said ‘you guys need to turn around,’ so we turned around,” he told KSAZ. “You just hear gunshots go off. Eight, nine gunshots just start going off, like fireworks, just one after the other.”
🚨#BREAKING: Multiple people injured in officer involved shooting
⁰📌#DodgeCity | #KansasMultiple people have been injured in an officer-involved shooting outside of the Kansas State Department of Transportation. 4 were shot, 1 was bitten by K9, and the suspect was killed. pic.twitter.com/Hj90xb809u
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) January 23, 2023
The KBI is handling the ongoing investigation into the shooting.
The investigative findings will be forwarded to the Ford County Attorney for review.
Investigators said the suspects involved in the chase were both wanted in connection with a double homicide that took place in Phoenix over the weekend, KAKE reported.
The victims in that incident, 27-year-old Asya Ribble and 28-year-old Cameron Brown, were found dead shortly after 1 p.m. on Jan. 22, according to the news outlet.
Investigators said they also found two young children inside a home while they were investigating the murders of Ribble and Brown, KWCH reported.
The children were both uninjured, according to police.
Phoenix detectives on the scene of a double homicide Sunday night into Monday morning. We’re just learning that two suspects fled to Kansas and were in a shootout with deputies there this AM – one suspect was killed. Another in critical condition. Details developing @FOX10Phoenix pic.twitter.com/fDfeA8vcaG
— Marissa Sarbak (@MarissaSarbak) January 24, 2023
A motive for the double homicide was not immediately released.
Malone served approximately 15 years in prison due to prior convictions, according to KSAZ.
Sandy Malone
