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Published in the Houston Chronicle - April 30, 2008
KELLYVILLE, Texas — Law enforcement officers searched the area around Lake O' The Pines Wednesday looking for a former police officer they want to question in the shooting death of a Department of Public Safety trooper.
Trooper James Scott Burns, 39, was killed Tuesday night after pulling over a car near the intersection of FM 1969 and FM 729 on the northeast side of the lake just west of Kellyville in Marion County, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. A passer-by used the trooper's radio to call for help.
Authorities issued a statewide search for Brandon Wayne Robertson, 37, of Tyler. He had not been formally charged as of Wednesday afternoon.
Robertson was an East Texas police officer for seven years at departments in Rusk County, Overton and Kilgore, according to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Education. He left law enforcement in 1999.
DPS Trooper and spokeswoman Sylvia Jennings said she did not know what prompted the pursuit that ended with Burns' death. Jennings said in a story on the Longview News-Journal's online edition that the video camera in the trooper's car was hit and didn't show anything but the pursuit.
The car had four bullet holes in its windshield and one on the hood.
Authorities described Robertson as white with green eyes and red hair, standing 6-foot-2 and weighing 250 pounds. Authorities are also looking for a 1997 blue Dodge Intrepid with Texas license 039-LCG.
A group of East Texas businesses and district attorney's offices are offering a $30,000 award for information leading to the arrest and indictment of Burns' killer.
Burns is the 83rd state trooper to die in the line of duty, according to DPS. He is survived by a wife and a 5-month-old daughter.
He joined the Department of Public Safety five years ago. He worked before that as a state correctional officer. Texas Forest Service firefighter Ronnie Hamm, a longtime friend, told the newspaper that Burns thought he could better serve the community as a state trooper.
"We're sad — so sad — at this loss, but at the same time we're damn angry about what happened," Hamm said.
Hamm said Burns issued a lot of warnings to drivers. "He hated to give out citations," Hamm said.
Hamm said he last saw Burns on Monday when the trooper brought his daughter Micah to Hamm's office.
"There's a 5-month-old daughter that had the greatest dad in the world, and she'll never have the chance to know him," he said.
Kellyville is about 135 miles east of Dallas.
Published on KLTV News - April 30, 2008
Trooper Scott Burns was recently married. He and his wife have a 6 month old baby girl. KLTV 7's Courtney Lane talked to close friends and colleagues Wednesday, who all say Trooper Burns lived his life serving and helping others and will be greatly missed.
"A piece of America died and that's the truth," said Jefferson Chief of Police Gary Amburn. "He was just that kind of person."
Law enforcement is in anger and a family is in mourning. Trooper Scott Burns grew up working at his parent's feed store in Linden.
"He was always smiling and always cheerful," said Amburn.
He was also a proud dad.
"Scott came in with his pictures," said Deronda Riley, who worked with Trooper Burns as a dispatcher. "I think he was a very good family man. He was very loving of his new baby and very excited about that."
Chief Amburn knew Trooper Burns since he was a little boy, and was not at all surprised when he chose to protect and serve.
"He was always the first one there, willing to help in anything," said Amburn.
"I think he got a lot of gratification from getting criminals off the road and off the streets," said Riley. "Getting drunks off the street before they could kill someone."
He would also make a number of drug busts.
"He was really a credit to his profession and the state of Texas was lucky to get him," said Amburn.
Wearing black bands around their badges in remembrance and communities already setting up funds to help his grieving family.
"They're going to need a lot of support and a lot of prayers," said Riley. "A young wife and a young baby that's never going to know her dad."
But his baby girl will know the love and heroic bravery of this East Texas protector, whose life was taken too soon.
A funeral service for Trooper Scott Burns has been arranged for this Saturday, May 3rd at 2 p.m., at the First Baptist Church of Linden. A visitation service will be Friday evening at 6 at the church fellowship hall.
Published in the Tyler Morning Telegraph - April 30, 2008
He is a former peace officer who had two encounters with Texas Department of Public Safety troopers during the month of April, one that ended in his arrest and the other in the death of a trooper.
Now, law enforcement officials in the region are searching for the man they say killed 39-year-old James Scott Burns, of Linden, during a high speed chase Tuesday night. Some officers told the Tyler Paper they fear that when the former officer — considered armed and extremely dangerous — is located, there will be a shootout because “he has nothing to lose.”
Texas Department of Public Safety trooper Jean Dark said they are seeking 37-year-old Tyler resident Brandon Wayne Robertson in connection with Burns’ death and that a capital murder warrant has been issued.
Burns, who was born in Longview and graduated from Tyler Junior College, was killed when he was shot several times in his patrol car. The shooting occurred just before 8 p.m. by the intersection of Farm-to Market roads 1969 and 729 northeast of Lake 0’ The Pines near Kellyville.
Officials say Robertson ambushed the trooper, who was not even able to remove his seat belt as he stopped his patrol unit before he was shot multiple times with a shotgun.
A local citizen, who attempted to provide aid to the trooper, used Burns’ radio to call for help, but Burns would die at the scene.
Troopers developed the suspect’s name after talking to an incarcerated man who once owned the car involved in the incident.
Dark said officials are seeking information on the whereabouts of Robertson and the blue 1997 Dodge Intrepid bearing Texas license plate 039-LCG he was last seen driving.
Dark said Robertson was last known to have lived just north of Tyler in the Eagle Creek subdivision in a travel-trailer.
Records with the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education show Robertson is a former lawman in Rusk County.
The TCLOSE records show Robertson worked for the Overton Police Department, the Kilgore Police Department and the Rusk County Sheriff’s Office.
The record indicates he last served as a peace officer in 1999 when he left the Overton department and shows he was a seven-year veteran officer who has been trained in police tactics.
Kilgore Police Capt. Randy Hancock said Robertson worked for the department only briefly and was allowed to voluntarily resign after poor job performance, which included wrecking three patrol cars.
After leaving law enforcement, Robertson turned to crime and did a stint in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice system for narcotics before being paroled.
Officers across the area all said their thoughts are with Burns’ wife and 6-month-old child and they found Robertson’s acts cowardly.
“I believe the words I would use would be that I am appalled that he or anyone else could do what he did to another human being in the manner he did it. That trooper didn’t have a chance,” Hancock said.
The Gregg County Judicial Web site shows Robertson has been jailed for unlawful carrying of a weapon, possession and manufacture/delivery of controlled substance and theft.
But that wouldn’t be the last time he would be in trouble with the law.
Cherokee County Jail records show Robertson was arrested April 6 by DPS troopers and charged with felony three possession of a controlled substance.
He posted a $7,500 bond the very next day and remained low on the radar until Tuesday night’s shooting.
Now, every peace officer in the area is looking for a man many believe will not give up.
“I believe he is ... bent on self-destruction and will take anyone with him that he can. We hope that isn’t the case, because we don’t want anyone else hurt,” one officer said.
Officers continue to search an area near where the shooting occurred, but there have been no sightings.
Anyone with information about Robertson is asked to contact their local law enforcement agency immediately, and police warn not to confront the suspect.
Published on KWTX, Waco, TX - May 1, 2008
A capital murder warrant has been issued for a former East Texas police officer who’s wanted in the shooting death of a Department of Public Safety trooper.
The Texas Department of Public Safety says a statewide search continues for 37-year-old Brandon Wayne Robertson of Tyler, who’s wanted in the shooting death of 39-year-old Trooper James Scott Burns.
Burns was gunned down Tuesday night during a traffic stop near Lake O' The Pines in East Texas.
State licensing officials say Robertson was an East Texas police officer for seven years at departments in Rusk County, Overton and Kilgore before leaving law enforcement in 1999.
State troopers arrested him as recently as April 6 when he was charged in Cherokee County with drug possession.
The DPS announced Wednesday evening that businesses and district attorney’s offices have put up a $30,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and indictment of the trooper’s killer.
The DPS is asking anyone with information about the murder or Robertson’s whereabouts to call either 1-888-244-0827 or 1-888-244-0829.
Oak Farms Dairies, Hunt Petroleum, the Bowie County District Attorney’s Office, the Cass County District Attorney’s Office and the Marion County District Attorney’s Office contributed the $30,000 reward, which remains in effect for the next six months.
Robertson is believed to have fled in a blue Dodge Intrepid with Texas license plate 039-LCG.
Burns was shot to death by a driver he had stopped after a pursuit that ended Tuesday night near the intersection of FM 729 and FM 1969 in Marion County.
Michael Gray, who lives just south of the intersection where Burns was killed, told the Longview News-Journal that he saw a man jump out of his car and shoot the trooper four or five times.
Just before 8 p.m. Tuesday, a passerby used the trooper’s radio to notify dispatchers in Marion County that Burns had been shot.
Burns is the 83rd DPS officer to die in the line of duty.
Burns joined the DPS on March 1, 2003.
He had been stationed in Jefferson since September 2006.
He was born in Longview and attended Tyler Junior College, Texarkana College and Ouachita Baptist University.
He’s survived by his wife and a 5-month-old child.
Visitation is Friday night at First Baptist Church in Linden.
The funeral will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at the church. Burial will be at Shiloh Cemetery near Linden.
Published in the Longview News-Journal - May 1, 2008
LINDEN — The friends of slain DPS trooper James Scott burns are devastated and angry.
Texas Forest Service firefighter Ronnie Hamm considered himself Burns' good friend. Hamm learned of his friend's death late Tuesday night and helped spread the word.
The firefighter sat on a bench outside the Cass County courthouse Wednesday afternoon, staring at the sidewalk. He spoke with Burns' father for two hours on the phone Wednesday morning.
"We're sad — so sad — at this loss, but at the same time we're damn angry about what happened," Hamm said.
Burns joined the Department of Public Safety five years ago, after working as a state correctional officer. Hamm said Burns thought he could better serve his community as a state trooper.
Once Burns joined the force, Hamm occasionally rode with him. He called Burns a professional who had a low-key personality. He said Burns issued a lot of warnings.
"He hated to give out citations," he said.
Burns and his wife Michaela married a couple of years ago, and Hamm's wife sang at the wedding. The Burnses' daughter, Micah, was born about five months ago. Burns brought Micah to Hamm's office Monday. The last time Hamm saw Burns, the trooper was holding his daughter.
"I'd never seen a guy more content," Hamm said.
"There's a 5-month-old daughter that had the greatest dad in the world, and she'll never have the chance to know him," Hamm added.
Hamm said he believes everything happens for a reason, but he cannot see any reason in Burns' death.
"It's a struggle right now," Hamm said. "I don't understand how anyone can have that amount of evil in them."
Hamm said he and Burns attended Linden-Kildare High School, although several years apart.
C.J. Hagler, a retired agriculture teacher, said he taught Burns, Burns' twin brothers and Burns' father. Hagler said Burns came from a good family, and was a very active student who was good to have in class.
Retired guidance counselor Pat Keesee said Burns was liked by students and faculty.
"He was a fine young man and was well-thought of back then," Keesee said.
Burns' supervisor, Highway Patrol Sgt. Joshua Mason, went with the trooper's family to make funeral arrangements. He fought back tears outside the funeral home.
Mason said he trained Burns when he first joined the department. The two were great friends, and Mason said he recently had been promoted to a sergeant, making him Burns' supervisor.
"There's no better trooper out there I know of," Mason said.
Jefferson Police Chief Gary Ambern has known Burns and his family for 20 years. Ambern's office is across the street from where Burns was stationed in Jefferson. Ambern said Burns was a well-respected member of the community and was a great example of a law enforcement officer.
"I'm still numb over it," Ambern said. "I still don't want to believe."
"For someone to maliciously murder such a fine young man, it's a horrible, a terrible thing to take a father and a husband and a son and a friend," Ambern said.
The Linden feed store operated by Burns' parents, Triple "S" Feed, was closed Wednesday. A sign on the door read, "Closed Due to Death in Family." A large black ribbon was tied to the doorknob.
* * *
DPS Trooper James Scott Burns
Age: 39
Hometown: Linden
Family: Wife, Michaela, and 5-month-old daughter, Micah
Education: Linden-Kildare High School, Tyler Junior College, Texarkana College and Ouachita Baptist University
Career: Joined the Texas Department of Public Safety on March 1, 2003; stationed in Linden until that office closed; transferred to Atlanta Highway Patrol office; transferred to Jefferson office on Sept. 1, 2006; worked for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice before joining the Department of Public Safety.
Published in the Houston Chronicle - May 1, 2008
LINDEN, Texas — Law enforcement authorities have found the body of a 37-year-old Tyler man wanted in the death of a Department of Public Safety trooper.
DPS spokeswoman Tela Mange says Brandon Wayne Robertson died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His body was found Thursday off Cass County Road 1347 near Morris Lake.
Robertson was named in a capital murder warrant in the death of Trooper James Scott Burns, who was killed Tuesday night after pulling over a car near Lake O' The Pines in East Texas.
In Memory of Trooper James Scott Burns
1968-2008
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