Police: Man who shot cop in custody; Multi-agency manhunt leads to arrest

Apr. 14—Eight hours after police say Jerry Don Elders shot a Burleson police officer, the 39-year-old was arrested by Gainesville police.

Officers also accuse Elders of shooting and killing a woman, and he will face a murder charge when he is returned to Johnson County. That transfer had not taken place, as of print deadline.

A multi-agency manhunt led to the arrest, and Elders was booked into the Cooke County Jail on charges of aggravated assault against a public servant and possession of a controlled substance — both felony offenses. He also had a warrant out for his arrest for a probation violation on a theft charge out of Johnson County, police said.

His bond totals $1 million, jail records show. Soon, Elders will face a capital murder charge out of Johnson County, as well, according to a press release from the Gainesville Police Department.

Early Wednesday morning, at about 4:15 a.m., a Burleson police officer made a traffic stop in the 1100 block of Hillside Drive, near Burleson High School.

The stop was made for a defective taillight or brake light, said Burleson Police Chief Billy Cordell.

"As the officer approached the vehicle on the passenger side, he came up on the passenger window," Cordell said. "He observed a white male in the back seat, a female in the front seat. He tapped on the window to get them to roll the window down, at which time Elders immediately raised a hand gun and proceeded to fire multiple shots at our officer."

The shots came very quickly as the officer approached the window, he said.

"He had no warning, nowhere really to go," Cordell said.

The officer, who has since been identified by Burleson Police Department as Joshua Lott, was transported by another officer to John Peter Smith Hospital where he was reported to be alert and in stable condition.

Cordell said the car left the scene and turned south on John Jones Drive, which is also named Farm-to-Market Road 731.

The suspects started having vehicle trouble, Cordell said, and the vehicle caught on fire. They pulled over in the 700 block of John Jones Drive to abandon the vehicle, he said.

"The suspects then fled from that location and it is believed that one of the suspects went to a home in the 8000 block of County Road 802 and carjacked a resident at that location," Cordell said.

At 8:44 a.m., a female arrived at the Joshua Police Department with gunshot wounds. She was transferred to Texas Health Huguley Hospital Fort Worth South, where she was pronounced dead.

"We believe that the vehicle we released is her vehicle and that they stole that vehicle," Cordell said.

BPD identified the woman as 61-year-old Robin Waddell.

The vehicle was described as a silver Toyota Tacoma with license plates DKB6819.

A Blue Alert was issued, which alerts all North Texas police departments to be on the lookout for a suspect.

At about 1:29 p.m. Wednesday, Texas Highway Patrol troopers found a vehicle matching the description of the one being driven by the suspect involved in the Burleson incident, according to Texas Highway Patrol Sgt. Mark Tackett.

The reported stolen silver Toyota pickup was traveling north on I-35 near Farm-to-Market Road 1306 in Cooke County.

Troopers turned on their emergency lights and attempted to stop the pickup, according to the release from Tackett, a Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman.

The driver, identified as Elders, chose not to stop and continued north on I-35 before taking the Weaver Street exit.

Gainesville police officers were notified at about 1:30 p.m. that the reported stolen vehicle was possibly seen in the south part of Gainesville.

Officers responded to the area and located a silver 2014 Toyota Tacoma pickup near Fairfield Street, GPD officials said.

Tackett said Elders abandoned the pickup on Shadowood Lane and fled.

A short time later, Elders was arrested near the area where the truck was found, according to a GPD release.

During the manhunt, Gainesville Junior High School was placed on lockdown, according to school officials. All students and staff were reported as safe.

The investigation is ongoing, Tackett said.

Lott joined BPD in May 2017, where he has worked the midnight shift his entire tenure.

"Officer Lott has served this community with great pride, and he has received several accolades in his short tenure with BPD," Cordell said.

Lott was awarded two life-saving awards, one in 2018 and one in 2020. He was given a police commendation in 2019 for work he made to recover seven motorcycles at Burleson Power Sports.

"Lott was fortunate today when there have been other officers that were not," Cordell said. "Our prayers are with Officer Lott and his family, the innocent victim's family whose life was taken when it is believed the suspect carjacked her vehicle, and to all law enforcement officers across the country and their families."

Cordell said that doctors believe that Lott has no life-threatening injuries.

"It's really a remarkable story," Cordell said. "He was shot, we believe three times. We believe one in his chest, he had a wound on his shoulder and then he had a through and through shot to his neck.

"It's an amazing story. I visited with him at the hospital. He is alert, he's in stable condition."

Cordell thanked the community for the support they have shown.

"We have a very strong community in Burleson, an incredible outpouring of support for these officers, for the outstanding work they do," he said. "Our Burleson police officers are some of the finest people I've ever had the privilege of working with. They do what they do every day.

"This officer showed up and was doing his job and was ambushed. There's really no other way to say it. He was absolutely ambushed during this attack. All of the other officers did what they needed to do and all of our team came together, along with multiple, multiple other agencies."

Cordell said that those wishing to help the family can email lcauthern@burlesontx.com.

"Burleson Police Department expresses our sincere appreciation to the multiple agencies who assisted and offered assistance, the U.S. Marshal's Office, Texas Rangers and Department of Public Safety," Cordell said. "We also want to express our thank you to the medical staff at John Peter Smith Hospital who rendered care to our officer.

"Thank you to our community for their love and well wishes."

Megan Gray-Hatfield from the Gainesville Daily Register contributed to this report.