minivan with Ohio plates at 11:36 a.m. traveling eastbound on I-40 at Airport Road and then exited the Interstate onto an off-ramp near College Avenue. Sgt. Brandon Paudert, 39, a back up officer arrived on the scene within moments of the traffic stop. The suspects in the white mini van exited the vehicle with AK 47 assault rifles and shot canine officer Bill Evans and his back up officer Sgt. Brandon Paudert. During the shooting canine officer Bill Evan’s partner, K9 “Kilo”, was in Evan’s vehicle. Paudert, the son of West Memphis’ police chief, died at the scene and Evans died at a hospital shortly after. Both officers were wearing their vests. The suspects, Jerry Kane, 45, and his son, Joseph Kane, 16, then drove off in the white mini van. About 90 minutes later, a minivan that had been seen leaving the shooting site was spotted in a parking lot of a nearby Wal-Mart. There, it was approached by Crittenden County Sheriff Dick Busby and Chief Enforcement Officer W.A. Wren, who were traveling in the same vehicle. Both officers were wounded in a gun battle initiated by the suspects. Sheriff Dick Busby was shot in the arm and Chief Enforcement Officer W.A. Wren was shot in the abdomen and air lifted to Regional Medical Center at Memphis, where they were in critical condition. Officer
had a long history with police and recently complained about being busted at a “Nazi checkpoint” near Carrizozo, N.M., where court records show he spent three days in jail before posting a $1,500 bond on charges of driving without a license and concealing his identity. Warnings were given to officers on July 21, 2004, about Kane, saying he might be dangerous to law enforcement. Kane had complained in July 2004 about being sentenced to six days of community service for driving with an expired license plate and no seat belt, saying the judge had tried to “enslave” him. Kane added that he was a “free man” and asked for $100,000 per day in gold or silver.
