Tuesday, March 25, 1997
Shooting trucker pleads guilty
By ANTHONY WILSON Staff Writer
A trucker who led lawmen on an hour-long interstate chase because
he "freaked out" at the prospect of being shot by a
state trooper pleaded guilty Monday to aggravated assault of a
police officer.
Under a plea agreement, Zachary Brown was sentenced to 10 years
deferred adjudication, a $2,000 fine and 60 days in the Taylor
County jail.
Prosecutor Robert Harper charged the 39-year-old defendant
tried to smash state trooper Larry Brown on Interstate 20 on Dec.
1, 1995, as the officer tried to stop the big rig for failing
to yield to an ambulance.
Defense attorney Randy Wilson offered a varying version.
His client claims another vehicle pinned in his tractor-trailer,
preventing him from letting the ambulance pass. Brown told Wilson
that as he was pulling his eastbound semi off the highway, he
saw Trooper Brown approaching the truck and unsnapping his holster.
The attorney said his client's cousin was shot and killed by
a trooper in another state. The officer went to prison for the
slaying, Wilson said.
"He totally freaked out," Wilson said. "He popped
it back into first gear and pulled back on the interstate."
About a dozen officers chased the trucker through Taylor, Callahan
and Eastland counties, reaching a top speed of 61 mph. Eventually,
Wilson said, a reserve Runnels County deputy pierced Brown's radiator
and his tires with several shotgun blasts, causing the truck to
topple three miles east of Cisco and scattering a load of cotton
bales.
Wilson added that inside the overturned cab, Brown tried to
stab himself with a screwdriver, yelling at officers, "You're
not going to shoot me."
"He was just trying to keep from being shot," the
attorney said. "No one was hurt."
Tests revealed no traces of drugs or alcohol in the trucker's
blood.
Zachary Brown lost his driving job over the incident.
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Copyright ©1997,
Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
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