MESSENGER Texas Press
TEXAS PRESS ASSOCIATION • TEXASPRESS.COM • SEPTEMBER 2012 • VOL. 87 NO. 9
When tragedy hits home
Big Lake paper covers 17-hour standoff while mourning the loss of a loved one
A Midland County Sheriff’s Office armored personnel carrier approaches Madison’s home early Thursday morning (Aug. 2) in a continued attempt to have Madison surrender on his own. Snipers and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers kept aim on Madison’s home as the assistant police chief drove into the front yard. The assistant police chief was forced to back away from the house just after 8 a.m. after they received no response. Photo by J.L. Mankin/The Big Lake Wildcat. By Laura King Texas Press Messenger Tragedy struck Big Lake last month. The Reagan County deputy sheriff was killed. In a community like Big Lake, the deputy sheriff is never just the deputy sheriff – he’s family. And to one local journalist who helped cover the story, including a 17-hour standoff with the suspect, he was a brother-in-law.
J.L. Mankin was driving down Main Street with his wife, Jacy, and their two-year-old on the first day of August when he came across a patrol car with its lights on. Mankin, a reporter and photographer for The Big Lake Wildcat, was naturally curious and decided to follow the vehicle. About half a block down Main Street, the patrol car pulled into an alleyway and officers exited the vehicle carrying assault rifles.
Big Lake Volunteer Fireman Jaron Young, talking to two Texas Department of Public Safety troopers, is silhouetted against the bright standoff scene in the early morning hours of Thursday, Aug. 2. Several flood lights were placed around the 1108 North Main Street home where Madison holed up after he fatally shot Reagan County Deputy Josh Mitchell. Photo by J.L. Mankin/The Big Lake Wildcat.
Mankin pulled over and got out. Moments later his mother-in-law pulled up behind them. She had been listening on her scanner – Jacy’s brother, 26-year-old Reagan County Deputy Sheriff Josh Mitchell, had been shot. “At that time we didn’t know if there was still an active shooter,” Mankin said. “I noticed there were kids out at the swimming pool, which was just across the street. I yelled at
them to get inside. Then I realized I had my two-year-old and my wife right there, so we all hopped in the car and got away, because I didn’t know if the guy was just shooting to shoot.” The primary suspect, Mark Madison of Big Lake, allegedly shot Mitchell in the side as he walked around the back of his patrol car to speak with him about a complaint. Madison refused
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