A nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism

Scott County Sheriff’s Deputy Jaime Morales critical after shooting at I-75 rest stop, fugitive killed


By Tom Latek
Kentucky Today

A Scott County sheriff’s deputy was in critical condition Wednesday following an officer-involved shooting late Tuesday night that left one suspect dead, the Kentucky State Police said.


The sheriff’s deputies and Georgetown police officers were helping federal agents from the U.S. Marshals capture a fugitive from another state, the state police said. The incident happened around 10:15 p.m. at a rest area off Interstate 75 northbound in Scott County.

Scott County Deputy Jaime Morales


The Georgetown-Scott County Special Response Team made contact with the suspect, 57-year-old Edward Reynolds of Florida, and shots were exchanged, state police said.


Reynolds was pronounced dead at the scene by the Scott County coroner. It’s unclear who shot him as the timeline of the shots fired has not been released.


The injured deputy, Jaime Morales,was shot in the back. He was transported to University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital and was in critical condition after undergoing two surgeries Wednesday, authorities said.


The 28-year-old Morales was shot once while teaming with other Scott County deputies and Georgetown police officers in assisting the U.S. Marshal’s Service in apprehending the fugitive, Scott County Sheriff Tony Hampton said Wednesday.


”Law enforcement, in general, is a dangerous career,” Hampton told reporters outside the sheriff’s office in Georgetown. “It doesn’t matter how big or small the community you’re in.”


Morales previously served as a Marine and has been with the Scott County sheriff’s office for two and a half years, Hampton said.
 

The rest area, around mile marker 127, remains closed, according to the Georgetown News-Graphic.


Georgetown Assistant Police Chief Robert Swanigan told the newspaper that the department is praying for the deputy.


“We are family,” he said. “We work with these guys every day. Our thoughts and prayers are with him, his family and friends.”


The FBI said Wednesday that Reynolds was believed to be a serial bank robber. The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office in Florida says it had obtained an arrest warrant for Reynolds in connection with a bank robbery in Venice, Florida, this past July.


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