Deputy Sheriff Mark Louis Stephenson

Mark Louis Stephenson

Deputy Sheriff Mark Stephenson and two other officers were shot and killed when they were ambushed at a 911 hang-up call.

Deputy Stephenson and Deputy Thomas Monse were the first officers on scene when they were shot with a semi-automatic rifle by the subject, who was waiting in an ambush. Both deputies were still in their patrol car. After shooting the officers, the subject took one of their handguns and hid in a ditch across a dirt road from the mobile home.

As Trooper Terry Miller pulled up he spotted the two slain deputies and radioed for backup but was shot and killed before he had a chance to take off his seat belt. Other officers who arrived on scene exchanged fire with the suspect. Two more officers and the subject were shot and wounded before the man committed suicide with the stolen handgun.

An accomplice to the subject who bailed him out of jail and helped him purchase ammunition in order to ambush the officers was sentenced to death in March 2001. The conviction was overturned on appeal and he was sentenced to 30 years in prison under a plea agreement.

Deputy Stephenson was a U.S. Army veteran. He was survived by his wife, three children, mother and three siblings.