Highway patrol sergeant slain in northeast Nevada; man held
By Ken Ritter
AP
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A veteran highway patrol sergeant was shot and killed a little before dawn Friday on a highway in a remote area of northeastern Nevada, and a 65-year-old man who fled with his uniform and patrol vehicle was arrested several hours later, authorities said.
Sgt. Ben Jenkins, 47, died in the shooting about 6 a.m. on U.S. 93 north of the White Pine County seat of Ely, state public safety Director George Togliatti said in a statement. Togliatti described Jenkins, a 12-year department veteran, as a lifelong community servant and volunteer from Elko who won the department’s highest honor, the Gold Medal of Valor, in 2011.
John Dabritz, a resident of the tiny White Pine County mining town of Ruth, was arrested about four hours later after he was found in the crashed highway patrol pickup truck in a ditch not far from the Lincoln County line, officials said.
Lincoln County Sheriff Kerry Lee, whose deputies were involved in the search, said materials identified as possible explosives were found and that it appeared Dabritz acted alone.
Dabritz on Monday tried to buy a full-page advertisement at the local Ely Times newspaper, said reporter Kay Lynn Roberts-McMurray, who noted that she called White Pine County sheriff’s deputies to report that Dabritz appeared confused.
“His conversation was very broken and not making sense,” Roberts-McMurray said. She said Dabritz told her he had spent time in mental health treatment in Las Vegas, that he was a former nuclear scientist, and that he had information about the origin of the worldwide spread of new coronavirus.
Dabritz also left a package at the locked door of a local court, Roberts-McMurray said.
White Pine County sheriff’s officials were not immediately available Friday for comment.
The shooting happened after Jenkins reported he was stopping to assist a motorist on the highway, NHP Col. Daniel Solow told reporters. It was the kind of routine offer of help that troopers provide all the time, Solow said. The site is more than 250 miles (400 kilometers) north of Las Vegas and 250 miles (400 kilometers) east of Reno.
Dabritz had multiple weapons and was previously known to law enforcement officers, Lee said.
Togliatti said Jenkins was a married father of four with five grandchildren. He was a former state fire marshal training officer, a crew supervisor for the state Division of Forestry, an assistant volunteer fire chief in Spring Creek and a veteran of the Army National Guard and Air National Guard. He joined the highway patrol in March 2008.
“Without question, Sgt. Jenkins was a hero to his community, his law enforcement colleagues, the state of Nevada and our country,” Togliatti said.
Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak ordered state and U.S. flags to fly at half-staff until sunset Monday in Jenkins’ honor. The governor called the death tragic and senseless, and said he believed Jenkins “undoubtedly saved many lives throughout his career in law enforcement.”
Jenkins was the first NHP officer killed in the line of duty since Trooper Kara Kelly-Borgognone died in a crash near Sparks in February 2008.
https://apnews.com/e2438ab59c00018472759927e531fe95
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