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A routine traffic stop turned deadly when the driver of a pickup truck opened fire on officials — and it was all captured on dashcam video.
A preview of Season 2, Episode 7 of Prosecuting Evil with Kelly Siegler features the angles from several vehicles involved in a March 17, 2007 high-speed pursuit that eventually claimed the life of Texas Game Warden Justin Hurst. Captain Roddy Rodriguez of the Wharton County Sheriff’s Office described the chaotic scene that ignited country roads in the middle of the night:
“You don’t know what’s gonna happen, but it’s pretty repetitive [that] they either stop … or they get out and run,” said Rodriguez in the preview. “And this night was different.”
What was captured on video of Justin Hurst’s death?
A light-colored pickup truck was seen angling on the road before coming to a complete stop, as seen in the grainy video of the recent clip. Then, the driver — wearing a short-sleeved shirt — emerged with a pistol in his grip and began rapidly shooting at deputies and other responders.
Shots continued to ring out as patrol lights flashed around them, and responders hunkered behind their vehicles.
“I drew my pistol and tried to put rounds somewhere [in] that direction,” said Game Warden Scott Blackburn.
“There was a point where he disappeared behind his truck into the cab,” sheriff’s Captain Rodriguez continued. “And at that time, I’m like, ‘I just gotta try to hit this guy,’ and I start firing through his back window.”
Footage showed the shooter retreat into the pickup as the back window and vehicle’s rear was peppered with bullet holes. The man reemerged a moment later with a rifle, sweeping the firearm from behind the truck’s bed and firing shot after shot.
“You could tell it was an AK-47 or an AR, just the way it sounded,” said Rodriguez.
The murder of Justin Hurst
The violent shootout would leave family man Justin Hurst fatally shot in a nearby ditch, succumbing to his injuries despite those around him doing their best to keep him alive, as captured on camera. A first-time father with a newborn son at home, he was killed just minutes into his 34th birthday.
But the motive for why a local man — later identified as James Garrett Freeman — attempted to kill a bunch of men in the line of duty remained unknown until investigators and prosecutor Kelly Siegler dug deep.
Hurst’s cold-blooded murder is only the next case revisited in Prosecuting Evil’s Season 2, as Siegler continues to deliver Texas-sized justice to the men and women behind some of the state’s most challenging cases.
“As Chief of Special Crimes in the busiest courthouse in the Lone Star state, Kelly Siegler battled to get killers into courtrooms and faced off with their formidable defense attorneys,” as detailed in the show’s official description. “Alongside the case investigators and victims’ families, Kelly draws on her own extensive experience, the prowess of her fellow state prosecutors, and the expertise of skillful defense attorneys to go beyond the headlines and reveal how perpetrators were brought to justice: Texas-style.”
Don’t miss out on Prosecuting Evil with Kelly Siegler, available to watch on Saturdays at 8/7c on Oxygen.
