PUTNAM COUNTY, Tenn. — A Tennessee husband and wife trucking team whose rig was loaded with $3 million in cocaine died in a shootout with Texas police on May 9.
According to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) Drug Unit in Tennessee, Edward and Elizabeth Stevenson had been under surveillance for some time before the May 9 incident.
Putnam County officials learned that the duo was in Texas and began working with the Donley County Sheriff’s Office in the Lone Star State to execute a search warrant on their rig.
Their Tennessee home had already been raided while the couple was on the road, according to police. An assortment of illegal drugs, guns and body armor was found.
Back in Texas, the couple fled authorities in their semi-truck after officials attempted a traffic stop.
Authorities reported that they knew the couple would be armed and had threatened to die “suicide-by cop-style” if they were ever confronted.
A short time after the chase began, Edward Stevenson pulled the rig over, and he and his wife climbed out with their guns blazing toward deputies and troopers.
A hail of police bullets cut through them, killing both at the scene, police said.
PCSO did not say whether any law enforcement officers were injured in the exchange of gunfire.
During a search of the rig, Donley County and the Texas Department of Public Safety, along with Texas Rangers, located and seized approximately 29 kilos (64 pounds) of suspected cocaine.
According to PCSO, the street value of approximately 29 kilos of cocaine would equate to approximately $3.4 million, all of which appeared to be coming back to the Putnam County and Upper Cumberland area.
Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and raised in East Texas, John Worthen returned to his home state to attend college in 1998 and decided to make his life in The Natural State. Worthen is a 20-year veteran of the journalism industry and has covered just about every topic there is. He has a passion for writing and telling stories. He has worked as a beat reporter and bureau chief for a statewide newspaper and as managing editor of a regional newspaper in Arkansas. Additionally, Worthen has been a prolific freelance journalist for two decades, and has been published in several travel magazines and on travel websites.
wow!
You did a great job covering this story John!
Right on point you hit the nail on the head good job.