This article was originally published in The Examiner on Nov. 23, 2017.
By Eleanor Skelton
Staff Writer
A man from Mississippi was arrested Monday night after knocking on doors in a neighborhood west of Beaumont and shooting at a Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputy.
Residents in the Diamond D Ranch subdivision on Highway 90 west of Beaumont called 911 dispatch about a suspicious person in the neighborhood knocking on their doors about 6 p.m Monday, Nov. 20 in the 1400 block of Michelle Lane, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Marcus McLellan said in a news release.
The man ran away on foot west of the neighborhood toward nearby horse barns when the Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputy who was dispatched arrived at the scene.
When the deputy chased the man, the suspect fired a gun at the deputy and the deputy shot back at him, McLellan said. The deputy kept chasing the man and called for backup from more law enforcement officers.
More Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office deputies, Texas DPS state troopers and ATF officers responded and set up a perimeter to search the area, along with a Beaumont Police K9 officer and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office helicopter.
Police found the man near a home and took him into custody, McLellan said.
The helicopter continued searching the neighborhood, using a thermal imaging camera to see if anyone else was involved.
Investigators searching the neighborhood and surrounding area found that one home was burglarized, but at this time, they are not sure if the man they arrested was involved in the burglary, McLellan said.
The suspect, Justin Dean, 23, is a transient with ties to Mississippi, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
Dean was initially booked into the Jefferson County Jail under with a retaliation warrant from Mississippi, but other charges against him are pending.
Eleanor Skelton 