Update: 16-year veteran Pasco officer recovering after being shot making an arrest
A 16-year-veteran of the Pasco Police Department is recovering Friday after being shot while trying to arrest a suspect wanted for a Kennewick assault.
It’s unclear if the man wanted for threatening a woman in Kennewick is the same person suspected of wounding Officer Jeremy Jones.
Jones was helping the U.S. Marshal’s Task Force and other law enforcement agencies who were attempting to arrest Devontea Wright, 27, about 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Pasco Chief Ken Roske said in a video released on Facebook at 9:15 p.m.
Wright was wanted in Benton County for charges of second-degree assault and illegal possession of a gun in connection with putting a gun to the head of a woman in a Kennewick bar in May.
A $100,000 nationwide warrant had been issued for him.
Thursday, officers confronted Wright outside of a home on the 1900 block of Riverview Drive in Pasco.
“During the arrest, Officer Jeremy Jones was shot,” Roske said in the video. “Life-saving measures were immediately provided by our responding officers.”
An earlier Facebook post said he was in stable condition at a local hospital.
Wright was booked into the Benton County jail.
Roske asked the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office to lead the investigation into Thursday’s shooting since it involved a Pasco officer, according to a Pasco police Facebook post.
Police have not said whether Jones or any other officers fired a weapon during the arrest.
“I’m extremely proud of the conduct of our officers who responded and likely saved our officer’s life,” Roske said. “We are extremely grateful for the outpouring from the community and appreciate your thoughts and prayers.”
Threats in a Kennewick bar
Wright was wanted on a warrant for allegedly threatening a woman during an argument inside the 3 City Sports Bar on Columbia Drive shortly before 1:30 a.m. on May 27, according to Benton County court records.
She said Wright is the “baby daddy” of one of her friends, and he was angry at her for being at the bar.
A security guard told police that he saw the arguing and told them to either stop or leave. Wright started to go, and then the woman yelled at him one more time.
Wright reportedly took out a chrome-plated pistol, racked a round and started approaching the woman, according to court documents.
The woman told officers he pointed the gun at her head, the guard told officers he stepped between the two and told the man to leave, according to court documents.
Wright left and the woman called 911.
When Wright was charged in May, he had two outstanding warrants from Oregon set at $200,000, Deputy Prosecutor Joshua Lilly said in the affidavit of probable cause.
Online court records show he also has two convictions for fourth-degree assault, harassment and second-degree sex abuse in Oregon.
This story was originally published December 1, 2022 at 3:24 PM.