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StumbleSlain Nye County deputy, gunman identified
Published Tuesday, April 27, 2010 | 11:48 a.m.
Updated Tuesday, April 27, 2010 | 7:40 p.m.
Deputy Ian Deutch
James Lacy Chaffin
Terrible's Lakeside Casino
Sun Archives
The Nye County Sheriff's Office has identified the man who killed a sheriff's deputy Monday at the Terrible’s Lakeside Casino and RV in Pahrump as 30-year-old James Lacy Chaffin.
Deputy Ian Deutch, 27, was airlifted to University Medical Center after the shooting. UMC spokesman Rick Plummer said Deutch underwent emergency surgery. He died Monday night.
Chaffin was shot to death by another deputy.
Nye County Sheriff Anthony DeMeo said deputies were responding to a report of a domestic argument and gunfire at a home a short distance from the casino, but went to the casino after the female victim called 911 and said she was seeking safety there.
Authorities said the incident started as a domestic dispute about 3:45 p.m. between the gunman and a woman. The man followed the woman to the casino, where he drew a rifle from his vehicle and opened fire on deputies without warning, the Nye County Sheriff's Office said.
DeMeo said the gunman's SKS assault rifle pierced the officer's bulletproof vest. Deutch was shot several times.
Another deputy in the marked sheriff's department pickup truck escaped injury, while a third deputy arriving in another vehicle fired four shots, killing Chaffin.
DeMeo said Deutch was a sheriff's department veteran with several years on the job before deploying with his Nevada Army National Guard unit to Afghanistan.
Nevada Guard Sgt. Erick Studenicka in Carson City said he was among some 700 members of the 1st Squadron, 221st Calvary who returned in March after serving nine months of convoy escort and counterinsurgency missions in Afghanistan.
No members of the unit died during the deployment, Studenicka said. Deutch was on his second day on the job after returning from service in Afghanistan, DeMeo said.
Deutch was a meritorious service medal winner, a squad leader and a forward artillery observer who identified Taliban targets for artillery strikes outside combat outpost Nagil, said Lt. Col. Scott Cunningham, a Las Vegas resident and commanding officer of Deutch's guard unit.
"He's one of those guys, his full-time job is a police officer and his part-time job is a soldier," Cunningham told The Associated Press. "He's always been out there trying to help people and make a contribution to society.
"What a first-rate guy he was. What a sense of loss this is."
Gov. Jim Gibbons has ordered state flags to be lowered to half-staff Saturday during Deutch's funeral services.
The on-duty death was the first for the Nye County Sheriff's Office since August 1992, when Deputy Gary Raymond Downs died of a heart attack while arresting a combative suspect, DeMeo said.
Pahrump is about 50 miles west of Las Vegas.
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These daily reports of shootings, violence, murder-suicides, DUI's, etc...are getting out of control!!!
"..while a third deputy arriving in another vehicle fired four shots, killing the gunman."
I wish I could fire a few more just for good measure. Scumbag.
SGT Deutch was a great guy and good soldier. He spent a lot of time assisting soldiers with proper firing techniques with the 9mm and enjoyed doing so. It's an honor to have been able to spend as much time with the guy as I did. I couldn't ever say anything bad about him. He was never pushy or arrogant or rude. He was an awesome guy and didn't deserve to be taken away.
Doesn't say much for the mini hospital they installed in Pahrump, if they air lifted him to UMC.
(Can't wait till they give the info on the suspect so we can vent our various prejudices.)
Another day of violent crime here in Southern Nevada. Respects go out to Sgt. Deutch and his family. Hopefully we will get rid of all of our lame government incumbents next election(s) and get some good leadership to clean up Nevada.
Ignore him everyone.
mred,
There are very few small hospitals that can handle a trauma case like this...they are used soley to try and stabalize, then airlift to the closest trauma center. Like I said "try" to stabalize. RIP Deputy Deutch
flapsychdoc writes......
These daily reports of shootings, violence, murder-suicides, DUI's, etc...are getting out of control!!!
Indeed! This is just the beginning of social breakdown just before the economy of the United States collapses. In another year we shall see the final product of the 2008 vote.
I can only hope the readers of this are as outraged as I am at Barack Obama. I guess I should start by saying that Obama's actions show that he is pursuing a foolhardy, tyrannical agenda under the guise of false concern for the environment, poverty, or whatever because "it's the right thing to do". This is hardly the case. Pres. Obama will simply continue to cause distress to people he doesn't know, has never seen, and who have done him no harm whatsoever.
This is what community organizers do. Screw the people.
You'd think that someone would have done something by now to thwart Pres. Obama's plans to depressurize the frail vessel of human hopes. Unfortunately, most people are quite happy to "go along to get along" and are rather reluctant to prescribe a course of action. After all, he is our first black socialist president.
I didn't even realize that Barack Obama was a suspect!!!
What a poor excuse of a country we live in. I do not personally like guns but support the constitutional right to bear arms. But an assault rifle? Give me a break.
Was that murderer going hunting with that?
What a shame.
RIP
"The right to bear arms......"
A basic Constitutional right not to be abrogated just because an officer of the law is gunned down in a senseless manner due to a domestic dispute.
Not only do I hurt for his family and friends, but for his fellow officers, and my heart goes out to the deputy who killed the suspect. What a choice to have to make.
To serve and protect at all cost...I lived in Pahrump at one point of my life. One of the great points of living in a small town was knowing your community, a friend of mine had a college course with the deputy and is devasted. She told me he was genuiely a good person rare to find in hard times. With all of the sadness I feel for my old town his friends and family for losing such a good and decent man, I cant help but feel for the woman he saved.She is going to have to live with the fact that her life was saved at the cost of someone losing theirs what sadness.
And to Reverendkscribe how dare you put a tragedy such as this where a domestic violence sitution turned into a slain P.O. on the President. This is not a topic that needs your anti-Obama hatred rants. I am so tired of people blaming every evil act of ONE individual on someone else. I agree with sandy_astroglide.
I don't get it, Chaffin looks like such a good guy!
The Rev is right, this was definitely and directly the fault of Pres. Obama (I saw him in Pahrump handing out assault riffles to Meth heads last week).
Tough break. We lose one of the good guys. I wonder how many 2nd chances we gave that Chaffin guy.
Very sad indeed. This officer seemed a remarkable individual and was the type of good man that belonged in public service. In the black and white world of good and evil he was willing to fight the good fight. Let us hope he left us doing what he loved. Let us hope those that remain exert themselves fully in his honor and step up the fight against the forces of evil in our communities.