A Clarkson man has died after shooting a Breckinridge County Sheriff’s Deputy and leading multiple police agencies on a massive manhunt and high-speed pursuit.
Tuesday night at approximately 10:00, the Grayson County Sheriff’s Office, Leitchfield Police Department and Kentucky State Police were dispatched to Ben Johnson Elementary School at 13598 Hwy 259, just inside Breckinridge County, after Breckinridge County Deputy John Lyons was shot by 42-year-old James Horton, of Clarkson.
The incident began when Lyons executed a traffic stop on a Ford F250 truck and discovered the female passenger had a warrant for her arrest, according to a law enforcement officer not authorized to speak about the case.
Horton, while Lyons detained the female, a law enforcement source said, fled in the Ford before crashing in a ditch line adjacent to the elementary school. It’s unclear at this point why Horton fled or why he, after crashing the truck, shot Lyons in the thigh.
Lyons was airlifted from the scene to an unknown hospital. His current condition is not available.
Horton, after shooting Lyons, fled the scene on foot as he ran behind the school and disappeared into the darkness.
Within minutes, 20-plus law enforcement officers from the GCSO, Leitchfield PD, Hardinsburg Police Department, Breckinridge County Sheriff’s Office, Irvington Police Department, Meade County Sheriff’s Office and Kentucky State Police (and possibly others) arrived on scene, set up a perimeter and began a search for Horton.
At approximately 10:30, a tan Chevrolet S10 was reported stolen from a residence a short distance from the scene of the shooting.
As police gathered intelligence on Horton’s location, multiple troopers, deputies and LPD officers traveled to Leitchfield and coordinated on West Main Street, just off the Leitchfield Public Square.
Between 11:30 and 11:40, police learned Horton was traveling on Anneta Road, south of Leitchfield. Law enforcement, about 20 strong, sped down South Main Street and onto Anneta Road when, in about the 1500 block of Anneta Road, the southbound officers were passed in the northbound lane by Horton, who was driving the stolen truck and traveling between 80 and 90 miles per hour.
The officers turned around and gave chase. But with Horton having a decided advantage — his excessive speed plus the time it took for police to turn around — and with someone in a very similar truck causing police to stop at the intersection of South Main Street and the William Thomason Byway, Horton was able to escape capture.
At this point, police spread out around Leitchfield and the surrounding area as the search continued, with law enforcement soon learning Horton was traveling east on Grayson Springs Road.
As over 20 officers converged on Grayson Springs Road as well as Peonia Road and Millerstown Road, Horton turned onto Peonia Road, with Kentucky State Troopers locating the suspect and giving chase as Horton left Grayson County and entered Hart County before turning onto Hwy 728.
From Hwy 728, Horton turned onto North Dixie Highway, with multiple troopers giving chase. As Horton traveled north, a Grayson County deputy, entering Hart County on Hwy 224 before turning south onto North Dixie Highway at Upton, encountered the pursuit in the 10000 block of North Dixie Highway when, in an apparent effort to avoid the deputy, Horton drove into a cow pasture just before 1:00 a.m.
With police just behind, Horton drove about three-quarters of a mile into the field, coming to a stop near a tree line.
It’s unclear if Horton then fatally shot himself, or if he was shot and killed by Kentucky State Police. He was pronounced dead at the scene by the Hart County Coroner’s Office.
The investigation is ongoing.
(Headline photo: James Horton, the Ford truck Horton wrecked near Ben Johnson Elementary School before shooting John Lyons)
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
