LYON COUNTY, KY (WKYT/KFVS) - The suspect accused of shooting and killing a Kentucky State Police trooper in Lyon County died shortly after being taken into custody.
KSP investigators have identified the suspect as Joseph Thomas Johnson-Shanks, 25, of Missouri.
Lyon County Judge-Executive Wade White told KFVS that Johnson-Shanks was found around 7 a.m. CST Monday and was shot during the encounter.
Troopers of the Special Response Team saw Johnson-Shanks with a firearm and instructed him to relinquish it. State police say Johnson-Shanks refused verbal commands and aimed a weapon at the troopers. An SRT Trooper shot Johnson-Shanks. He was taken to the Caldwell Medical Center in Princeton where he died at 08:23 a.m. CST.
KSP said around 11 Sunday night, Trooper Joseph Ponder pulled over a car for a traffic stop on Interstate 24. Police say the vehicle sped away from the scene and Trooper Ponder followed.
Police say Johnson-Shanks fired multiple shots into the trooper's cruiser. The rounds hit the vehicle and Ponder multiple times.
Ponder was taken to a hospital in Princeton, Kentucky where he was pronounced dead shortly after.
Trooper Ponder, 31, was from Rineyville and was stationed at Post 1 in Mayfeild. He graduated from the KSP Training Academy in January 2015.
KSP investigators have identified the suspect as Joseph Thomas Johnson-Shanks, 25, of Missouri.
Lyon County Judge-Executive Wade White told KFVS that Johnson-Shanks was found around 7 a.m. CST Monday and was shot during the encounter.
Troopers of the Special Response Team saw Johnson-Shanks with a firearm and instructed him to relinquish it. State police say Johnson-Shanks refused verbal commands and aimed a weapon at the troopers. An SRT Trooper shot Johnson-Shanks. He was taken to the Caldwell Medical Center in Princeton where he died at 08:23 a.m. CST.
KSP said around 11 Sunday night, Trooper Joseph Ponder pulled over a car for a traffic stop on Interstate 24. Police say the vehicle sped away from the scene and Trooper Ponder followed.
Police say Johnson-Shanks fired multiple shots into the trooper's cruiser. The rounds hit the vehicle and Ponder multiple times.
Ponder was taken to a hospital in Princeton, Kentucky where he was pronounced dead shortly after.
Trooper Ponder, 31, was from Rineyville and was stationed at Post 1 in Mayfeild. He graduated from the KSP Training Academy in January 2015.