Suspect in custody in shooting of Burleson officer, slaying of woman in carjacking

A suspect in the shooting early Wednesday of a Burleson police officer and the killing of a woman during a carjacking is in custody.

Jerry Elders, 39, was arrested in Gainesville, Burleson police said.

After shooting the officer during a traffic stop Wednesday morning, Elders and two other suspects — a man and a woman — drove away from the scene, but their car became disabled, said Burleson Police Chief Billy Cordell at a Wednesday afternoon press conference.

Elders and the other suspects left their vehicle, which had caught fire, and he carjacked the Toyota Tacoma from a woman at her home in the 8000 block of County Road 802, Cordell said. It is unknown if the other suspects were with Elders at the time of the carjacking.

The woman who was carjacked was shot, but she managed to go to the Joshua Police Department about 8:45 a.m., Cordell said. She was then taken to Texas Health Huguley Hospital in Fort Worth and died.

The name of the woman has not been released by authorities, but CBS 11 News identified her as Robin Waddell after speaking to her son. The TV station reported that the carjacker may have dumped Waddell outside the Joshua police station after kidnapping her. Joshua police declined to comment when a Star-Telegram reporter called the department.

There had been a massive search Wednesday for Elders and the two other suspects.

Elders was wanted on the charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon against a police officer, a first-degree felony, and possession of control substance penalty group 1, less than 1 gram, which is also a felony offense.

The Burleson police officer was shot multiple times early Wednesday during a traffic stop.

The officer was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth by another officer. He is in stable condition, and his injuries are not considered life-threatening, Cordell said Wednesday afternoon. The name of the officer, who has been on the Burleson force for four years and works a midnight patrol shift, has not been released.

The shooting occurred about 4:15 a.m. in the 1100 block of Hillside Drive in Burleson, near Burleson High School and STEAM Middle School.

Cordell said the officer had stopped the vehicle on an equipment violation and later noted it involved a defective light.

“The officer approached the vehicle on the passenger side. There appeared to be three occupants in that vehicle,” Cordell said. “As he turned toward the window, immediately shots started coming from within the vehicle through the window, striking the officer multiple times.”

Elders, who was driving, shot the officer through the passenger window with a handgun, Cordell said. A woman was sitting in the front passenger seat and another man was in the backseat.

The police chief said he believes the officer returned fire at the suspects, but he did not know if any of the suspects were shot.

The officer had no warning and nowhere to go when the gunfire started, Cordell said.

“He was ambushed,” he said. “No other way to say it. He was absolutely ambushed.”

KXAS Channel 5 reported that Cordell said the officer was “lucid and speaking” when he was transported to the hospital. Cordell later said the officer was wearing a bulletproof vest and he believes one of the shots hit the vest. Police are still investigating to determine how many shots were fired.

The suspects fled the scene in their car, which police do not believe was stolen, before abandoning it in the 700 block of John Jones Drive, police said. The car appeared to have burned.

No detailed description or names of the other suspects were released, but police were using body-camera video to try to identify them, the police chief said.

Cordell said investigators had several promising leads on the suspects.

The Texas Rangers are taking the lead in the investigation and are on the scene, Cordell said. The Department of Public Safety issued a Blue Alert for Elders, a statewide alert that’s sent for suspects in attacks on officers.

Officers from nearby cities, including Fort Worth, converged on the Burleson neighborhood as authorities searched for the suspects.

Officers went door-to-door, checking on Burleson residents in the neighborhood where the suspects abandoned their vehicle.

The police chief also said investigators would be going to residents and asking if home security cameras captured the shooting or suspects.

Elders has a criminal history in Tarrant County, according to Tarrant County criminal court records. Since 2002, he has been charged nine times with crimes such as drug possession, theft and burglary.

Burleson police arrested him in January and accused him of drug possession, according to Tarrant County criminal court records. His next court date was scheduled for May 3 in Criminal District Court No. 371 in Fort Worth

A handful of police officers from area departments gathered at JPS Hospital.

Standing in the street outside of the hospital ER, Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn said of the officer, “We believe and pray that it’s going to turn out good.”

He told press the recovering officer had the support of the community and his peers in law enforcement.

“You’re going to see police officers come in and out of here — and deputies and sheriffs and constables. They’re all going to show up, because that’s our brother up there,” Waybourn said. “We know he’s our brother in arms. And we want to make sure he and his family are OK.”

Police said to call 911 if you have information or see something suspicious.

Staff writer Jack Howland contributed to this report.