The two men are wanted in the July 25 shooting death of a 62-year-old man near Chillicothe, about 60 miles south of Columbus, authorities said.
Advertisement
Jesse Hanes, a 38-year-old man from OH, is suspected of shooting officer Chavez on Friday as he was preparing the paperwork during the traffic stop in the village of Hatch, about 40 miles northwest of Las Cruces.
An investigation was launched Friday after Officer Chavez was shot during a traffic stop near the Pic Quik convenience store on Franklin Avenue in the Village of Hatch.
The slain officer was Jose Chavez, 33, a two-year veteran of the Hatch Police Department. The other two suspects were captured before 7 p.m. after attempting to flee the scene.
A bulletin sent out three days later by the Ross County Sheriff’s Office in OH said both Hanes and another suspect, James Nelson, were believed to have fled the state and were armed and extremely unsafe.
The assisting officer reportedly returned fire toward the silver Lexus before the auto sped away toward Interstate 25, the statement said. At some point, the officer lost the suspects and the auto exited I-25 at Radium Springs. This driver seemed to be the owner of the Chevrolet Cruze vehicle that was carjacked. The condition of the driver is now unknown. She reported that the auto was speeding at more than 100 miles per hour and eventually lost sight of the vehicle.
Authorities were able to deflate the vehicle’s tires with “stop sticks”, Jameson said, but the driver was able to turn the vehicle into a residence in the 23000 block of N.M. 185. They said the carjacking victim was recovering in a hospital.
Hanes was driving a luxury auto when Chavez pulled him over at a gas station shortly before 4 p.m. Friday.
The two other suspects were captured before 7 p.m.in the 2400 block of Rincon.
Authorities didn’t identify the three suspects or the injured motorist. The assisting officer made an immediate call for “officer down” which triggered a multi-jurisdiction manhunt for the vehicle. They are being questioned by the sheriff’s department though DASO did confirm at least one appears to have not been directly involved in the shooting.
One motorist driving a red Chevy Cruze was approached by the man in the red shirt and was reportedly told to hand over his keys and go with the man, the statement said.
Advertisement
The reason for the traffic stop is unknown. “I don’t know when the last time Hatch experienced an incident of this nature”.
