The Sedgwick and Butler County Sheriffs have just released new information on a shooting that sent a Sedgwick County Deputy and a suspect to the hospital Monday evening.
It all started when the deputy saw a vehicle speeding and weaving in and out of traffic. The deputy started following the white Cadillac and once the driver noticed the deputy he sped up. A chase reached 90 to 120 mph and headed into Butler County on K-196.
The deputy described the situation on the radio and said the Cadillac started driving erratically. When the deputy caught up with the vehicle, he realized the car was stopped and smoking and believed that the engine had blown. The deputy said on the radio he believed the driver and a female passenger had gotten out of the vehicle. The deputy then walked towards a hedgerow and minutes later he announced on the radio that he had been shot.
Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter said the deputy was shot on his right side and in his right eye. He was taken to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita. The 33-year-old K-9 deputy had surgery to his eye and is now in fair condition. He has been with the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Department for five years.
The deputy had also fired back but the suspects kept walking towards a nearby farm house. The residents of the house had heard gunshots and screaming and noticed the man and woman, both armed, walking towards them so they went inside and locked the doors. They then saw the suspects break into their vehicles but couldn't get them started.
The suspects then kept walking and fired at deputy vehicles along the road. One shot hit a vehicle on the driver's door. The suspects eventually changed direction and walked back towards the hedgerow. There they ran into Butler County sheriff's deputies and Kansas Highway Patrol troopers. A trooper fired a shot and hit the male suspect in the chest. Both suspects were arrested.
The suspect is 35-year-old Jason C. Perez. He was flown to Wesley Medical Center. The Butler Co. sheriff says Perez is from Gardner in Northeast Kansas and had spent time in prison for drugs.
The female suspect is 27-year-old Clara Crosser, also from Gardner. She was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. She's now in the Butler County jail.
