Police1 Staff Report
(WHITEWRIGHT, Texas) -- The Whitewright Police Department has the solemn honor of replacing one brother with another.
Kevin Lamance, 43, will replace his brother, Officer James Lamance, 53, in the Whitewright police department after James was fatally shot during a traffic stop on Dec. 23, according to Chief Bob Wallace.
Kevin, a reserve officer, was in the car with his brother learning patrol work when the shooting occurred. He was also fired at.
“He’s asked for the job, and I think he’s earned the opportunity,” Wallace told the News.
Based on the brother’s description of the man and the four-wheel drive pickup truck he was driving, police arrested Richard Carl Hicks, 51, and charged him with capital murder and attempted capital murder. Bail has been set at $1 million and $500,000 respectively for the charges.
Fannin County Chief Deputy Donnie Foster told The Dallas Morning News that the two brothers engaged in a car chase with Hicks early Dec. 23 when they suspected him of drunk driving.
The chase led the officers through Grayson County to Fannin County where Hicks pulled off the road into a pasture. Lamance called for back up, but before they could arrive police heard the call over the radio.
“Pretty soon, we got a call that shot had been fired and an officer was down,” Foster told the newspaper.
Lamance, a two-year veteran of the department, was rushed to a local hospital where he died of a gunshot wound to the face.
Hicks was arrested a short time later in his home in Whitewright. Police confiscated several firearms from Hicks for ballistics testing.
Those wishing to make a donation to the memorial fund for Lamance can making out checks to Lynn Lamance, in memory of Jim Lamance, and send it to PO Box 516 Whitewright, TX 75491.