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Wolfe City Police Officer Charged With Murder After Fatally Shooting Black Man

Terrence Wright and others talk to the media on the side of the road.
Mark Haslett
/
KETR
About 700 people attended a vigil in honor of Wolfe City resident Jonathan Price Monday night. Attendees dispersed around 8 p.m., before news broke of the arrest of Shaun Lucas, who has been charged with murder in connection with Price's death.

Jonathan Price, a Black man from Wolfe City, died Saturday night after being shot and killed by a local police officer. Officer Shaun Lucas was arrested on Monday and charged with murder in connection with Price's death.

White Wolfe City Police Officer Shaun Lucas was arrested Monday and charged with murder in connection with the Saturday night’s shooting death of Jonathan Price, a Black Wolfe City employee. Lucas was booked into the Hunt County Detention Center and bail was set at $1 million.

The Texas Rangers released the following statement Monday night:

At approximately 8:24 p.m. on Oct. 3, 2020, Wolfe City Police Officer Shaun Lucas responded to a disturbance call at the 100 block of Santa Fe Street for a possible fight in progress.

Officer Lucas made contact with a man, later identified as 31-year-old Jonathan Price, who was reportedly involved in the disturbance. Officer Lucas attempted to detain Price, who resisted in a non-threatening posture and began walking away.

Officer Lucas deployed his TASER, followed by discharging his service weapon striking Price. EMS was notified and Price was transported to Hunt Regional Hospital, where he later died.

The preliminary investigation indicates that the actions of Officer Lucas were not objectionably reasonable. The Texas Rangers have charged Officer Lucas with the offense of Murder and booked him into the Hunt County Jail. This investigation is being conducted by the Texas Rangers, with the cooperation of the Wolfe City Police Department and the Hunt County District Attorney’s Office.

No additional information is being released at this time.

Jonathan Price's family told KETR Sunday that Price died as a result of three gunshot wounds. The Wolfe City Police Department has three officers, all three are white men.

Three people talk to a reporter outside the Wolfe City Kwik Chek with a small crowd in the background.
Mark Haslett
/
KETR
Terrence Wright (center) and others speak to the media on Oct. 4 at the Kwik Chek in Wolfe City, site of the Oct. 3 fatal shooting of Jonathan Price.

The incident happened at the Kwik Chek, a gas station convenience store, located at 103 S. Santa Fe Street in downtown Wolfe City, at the intersection of Santa Fe Street and Franklin Street.

Jonathan Price, 31, worked for the Wolfe City Municipal Works Department, according to Terrence Wright, who identified himself as Price's cousin. Price lived most of his life in Wolfe City and was well-known locally, according to multiple locals who gathered at the Kwik Chek on Sunday.

Wolfe City's local government issued a release Sunday morning saying an officer had shot someone and was being placed on leave pending an investigation by the Texas Rangers. The Texas Rangers routinely investigate officer-involved shootings for Texas law enforcement agencies.

Jonathan Price standing, smiling in a t-shirt holding a protein drink.
Courtesy of Price's family.
Jonathan Price


Price's family told media that Price was trying to break up a dispute between a man and a woman near the Kwik Chek. They said the man assaulted Price and when police responded to a report of the disturbance, an officer first tazed then shot Price, according to the family. 

A GoFundMe account has been established for the Price family, and it quickly surpassed its $50,000 goal. The account was established by Will Middlebrooks, a former Major League Baseball player and Northeast Texas native. Middlebrooks pinned a post about the GoFundMe accountto the top of his Twitter page.

In a Facebook video, Middlebrooks said he and Price were close childhood friends who played tee-ball together.

"We know how special of a human being he was, and it's a tough loss. This is a really, really tough loss for all of us on a lot of different levels," he said.

Mourners gathered for a candlelight vigil in honor of Price Monday evening in Wolfe City. Tramonica Brown, founder of the social justice nonprofit Not My Son, set up a caravan to travel to the vigil from Dallas City Hall.

"We want to honor his legacy," she said of Price. "That is a proud Black man who has a strong presence, and we want to make sure that that is held to the highest esteem, and that people know his story, and whatever facts come out tonight and from this point on, we want to make sure that nobody is trying to put him in a negative light."

She said she wants full transparency and fairness in Price's case going forward.

"I don’t want any red tape. I want whatever video footage comes out, and I want real prosecution. We have already taken a loss with the Breonna Taylor case and how they slapped us in the face," she said.

Breonna Taylor was a Black woman killed by police in her home in Louisville, Kentucky. A grand jury did not charge the three officers involved on anything related to her death, although one was indicted for shooting into neighboring apartments.

"We want real justice," Brown said.

Participants in the candlelight vigil and demonstration also called for justice.

"I would have never thought in a million years that it would have landed here in this community," Tina Johnson of Wolfe City said at the event. "And laws need to be changed. The guidelines for the police need to be corrected. They need to focus on the criminal itself, and not the color of the skin."

Terrance Hawkins of Commerce said he knew Price since high school.

"It's a very numb feeling that I have just knowing that he's such a motivational person, very humble individual," Hawkins said. "And I [wanted] to turn out to see how many people love him, to see just the environment...it's peaceful, and there's no negativity here at the protest. It makes you feel good to know that he was loved."

Lee Merrit speaks at a podium outside, in front of a crowd and the media.
Mark Haslett
/
KETR
Civil rights attorney Lee Merritt was among those who spoke at the Oct. 5 vigil in Wolfe City.

Philadelphia-based civil rights attorney Lee Merritt is providing legal help for the Price family. Merritt represented Botham Jean, the Dallas man killed by police in 2018. Merritt also represented former Texas A&M University-Commerce student Carmen Ponder, who was arrested by Commerce police in May 2017. Ponder was charged with evading arrest, but the charge was dropped in June 2017.
At a press conference on Monday, Meritt, accompanied by Price's family members, said he wants to see justice for Price.

"We want the officer officially named, identified and arrested," Meritt said. "Of course, he should be fired, but that should be the least of his concerns. He should be arrested as quickly as possible and indicted on charges of murder."

Around noon on Sunday, about 20 people gathered at the Kwik Chek. A man identified by witnesses as a local resident confronted two people from the independent website Smash Da Topic. One Hunt County Sheriff's Office deputy and one Hunt County constable responded on scene to reports of the disturbance.

Witnesses said the local man, who was driving an SUV, also struck the parked vehicle of a Kwik Chek employee during the incident. The man was detained by the Hunt County Sheriff's Office deputy, but was not arrested. About 40 people gathered at the Kwik Chek following the incident. As of about 2 p.m. Sunday, visitors had dispersed from the scene.

Wolfe City has a population of 1,412, according to the 2010 U.S. Census. It's located about 14 miles northwest of Commerce, and includes the intersection of State Highway 11 and State Highway 34. Wolfe City is in Hunt County, although parts of the northern city limits stretch into Fannin County. Wolfe City is about 17 miles north of Greenville, the Hunt County seat, and is about 70 miles northeast of Dallas.

This is a developing story and has been updated.

Copyright 2020 88.9 KETR. To see more, visit .

Mark Haslett has served at KETR since 2013. Since then, the station's news operation has enjoyed a increase in listener engagement and audience metrics, as well recognition in the Texas AP Broadcasters awards. Before coming to Northeast Texas, Haslett worked for High Plains Public Radio in Amarillo, where he worked as News Director and later as Director of Programming. His work has been broadcast on KERA, KCUR and other public radio stations, as well as the NPR Newscast. Haslett has also worked as an editor and reporter in both news and sports at newspapers in the Southwest and Midwest. Haslett developed a passion for radio as a youth, when he helped his father, a program host at (now-defunct) WRBC-AM in Jackson, Miss.
Miranda Suarez is KERA’s Tarrant County accountability reporter. Before coming to North Texas, she was the Lee Ester News Fellow at Wisconsin Public Radio, where she covered statewide news from the capital city of Madison. Miranda is originally from Massachusetts and started her public radio career at WBUR in Boston.