Franklin deputy who killed fleeing driver is back to work. 2nd investigation continues

The three Franklin County deputies involved in a November shooting that left a former Marine dead are back at work.

Deputy Cody Quantrell, who opened fire after the high-speed chase, is working in the office, while the other two, Deputy Andrew Garner and Sgt. Gordon Thomasson, are back on the road.

Franklin County Sheriff Jim Raymond announced Friday evening that he’d made the decision after an initial administrative review.

The three deputies were placed on paid leave on Nov. 18 following the death of Dante Redmond Jones, 28.

Raymond has not released more details about what happened before Quantrell opened fire, or whether Jones had a gun.

After being shot several times by the deputy, Jones drove another half-mile before running off the foggy road into a field. He died in the ambulance on his way to a Tri-City hospital.

The three deputies gave statements to the Tri-City Special Investigations Unit, which is comprised of officers from other area police agencies. The investigation unit is called in whenever there is an officer-involved shooting.

Detectives from the unit are still investigating the shooting. When they finish, the results will be handed over to the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office.

Chase and shooting

The deputies began responding to a 2:45 a.m. call Nov. 18 about a person parked in a car in front of a West Fir Road home.

The person who called about the suspicious driver couldn’t describe the vehicle because it was dark, according to an initial sheriff’s news release.

The first deputy to arrive couldn’t find the car. As deputies expanded the search area, Quantrell saw Jones speeding in the area of Sagehill Road and Highway 170 at 3:14 a.m. It was near Basin City, about 10 miles north of the earlier call.

Quantrell tried to pull Jones over but he led the deputy on a 10-minute chase before stopping in the middle of Sagehill near Wahluke Road.

Jones had tried to “brake check” and ram Quantrell’s patrol car, according to a broadcast of the chase.

A deputy reported “assault 1” over the radio before saying, “Shots fired. Suspect been hit. He still is continuing northbound.”

Jones’ car veered off the road and deputies declared “suspect down” and that paramedics were needed as they gave first aid to Jones.

This story was originally published December 14, 2019 at 4:15 PM.