K9 Officer Jacob Chaffins of the Prestonsburg Police Department was shot on 6/30/22 and died from his wound on 7/1/22. One of the officer’s that was pinned under a car by gunfire so long he got carbon monoxide poisoning while a K9 was shot to death inside the vehicle in a hail of bullets. Storz fired on officers with a 308 caliber rifle and AR-15 assault rifles. Chaffins was hit by a shot in the head fired from more than 200 yards while he pulled Reynolds into a back of an SUV. Officer Chaffins had been on the job for two years. Also killed in the shootout Deputy Sheriff William Petry, 60, and Captain Ralph Frasure, 60, of the Prestonsburg Police Department who were killed on the scene in Allen, Kentucky by Lance Storz, 49, who was wanted for domestic violence offenses and officers arrived at the home to serve a warrent. The woman told deputies Lance Storz was inside the home and she was only able to leave because he was asleep. Storz’s wife ran to the officers when they arrived. Deputies retrieved the woman’s daughter who was at another home and took them both to a safe place. The woman accused Storz of taking her phone and holding her hostage inside the home for days. She said Storz locked her in her bedroom, threw her across the room and beat her and sexually assaulted her. He brandished a gun and demanded that she beg for her life and that of her daughter. The woman told deputies the only time she was able to use a phone was when Storz was sleeping. That is when she said she was able to contact a relative for help. That relative then called the sheriff’s department. She also warned deputies by telling them that Storz had guns inside the home. An examination at the hospital did show signs physical assault of the woman. Four deputies went to the home to serve the Emergency Protection Order and arrest Storz for fourth degree physical assault. Deputies got their first glimpse of Storz in a window behind blinds when they first approached the home. Storz opened the door ‘like he had been waiting for police’ and started firing. Storz was wearing a bullet proof vest and backpack when he started firing at police. Frasure who was killed had 39 years of service with the Prestonsburg Police Department. Petry who was also killed had 31 years of total service. Frasure started in 1991 with the Prestonsburg Police Department where he remained until 2005. From 2005 to 2020, he served with KSP and then transferred to the Floyd County Sheriff’s Department. Numerous jurisdictions responded to assist following the initial shooting. Storz fired hundreds of rounds from prepositioned firearms throughout the home. Three other law enforcement officers and the director of emergency management were wounded, they were Constable Gary Wolf who lost one of his eyes after a bullet broke a window and the shattered glass hit him in the eye. Wolf is home but is expected to have a few more surgeries. Floyd County Deputy Darrin Lawson Deputy Lawson who was shot in the leg has a long road to recovery and Floyd County Emergency Management Director Joe Reynolds was shot in the left eye. Surgery has removed part of his eye, but will lose that eye entirely. The subject was taken into custody after remaining barricaded in the home for six hours. Deputies were eventually able to negotiate with Storz, with assistance from his family. Lance Storz shot at officers multiple times with a rifle around his residence on Main Street in the small town of Allen, Kentucky, in Floyd County just south of Prestonsburg. Kentucky State Police were called to the scene at 6:30 p.m., joining local officers already on the scene. Officer Chaffins was a U.S. Army veteran, Prestonburg City Police Officer, Member of Prestonburg Fire Department, Sergeant in the National Guard, EMT and a U.S. Marshall. Officer Chaffins K9 Nelson, was given to the Chaffins family. Officer Chaffins, is survived by his wife Savannah and daughter Paisley.
Lance Storz was charged with multiple counts of murder of a police officer, attempted murder of a police officer, and assaulting a service animal. Lance Storz is being held on a $10 million bond after he shot six officers on 6/30/22, killing three and injuring three others. Storz was arraigned on 7/1/22 by a judge in Pike County. He pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder of a police officer. One of the charges was originally attempted murder of a police officer, but a judge said at the hearing that was upgraded to murder. Storz, who is in jail in Pike County, is next due in court for a preliminary hearing July 11 at 1:30 p.m. Storz was scheduled to appear in court for a hearing on 7/11/22 at 1:30 but instead the judge announced that the hearing was no longer necessary since the grand jury had already issued a 20 count indictment. Storz was indicted on 20 charges on 7/11/22. Three counts of murder of a police officer and six counts of attempted murder of an officer, seven counts of wanton endangerment against a police officer, three counts of assault and one count of assaulting a service animal. Storz used multiple firearms in the attack on law enforcement. Storz was also accused of raping his own wife. He kept his wife and child under his control and didn’t let them escape when she told him that she had found an apartment. Storz will be arraigned on the indictment at 10:30 on 7/12/22. On 8/8/22 Storz pleaded not guilty. Storz is eligible for the death penalty. His next court appearance is 8/1/22. Without the death penalty, Storz still faces life in prison without parole if he is convicted.
He has a criminal case in Volusia County as well, where he had shot down a migrating bird with a shotgun. There was also a complaint against him for the emergency order of child protection. There are records of him going bankrupt in 2015 and 2008 and there was a recent liability of more than $400k. He was also keeping a rifle stored up illegally and was using various types of weapons in the attack.
Lance Storz committed suicide on 2/28/22 at the Pike County Detention Center. A Pike County grand jury released new details after investigating the death. They added their decision made based on surveillance video they reviewed from the Pike County Detention Center. The video showed Storz was housed in a pod of four individual jail cells, and he had one cellmate with him. On February 28, surveillance video recorded the deputy jailer making his rounds at 2:13 a.m. and looking into each jail cell. The next minute, Storz left the cell and went into a communal restroom. During this time, the jury said Storz appeared to have hidden items under his clothing, and it was believed to be bedsheets. They said his bedding was also arranged to make it look like Storz was still there. During the next several hours, cellmates entered the restroom three different times. However, they said they did not see Storz because he was in a shower stall. Officials said Storz was found dead in the shower stall at 6:36 a.m. Between the testimony, the evidence and the surveillance video, the jury concluded that Storz died of suicide by hanging, and they said he acted alone.
