Officer shot twice, saved by bulletproof vest, two in custody

There were very tense moments in Newton County late Saturday morning when a law enforcement officer was shot twice in the back. Thankfully, his ballistic vest absorbed the impact of both bullets, although one managed to penetrate the vest, but did not enter his body. Meanwhile, a man and a woman are in custody.  It all started when Precinct i Constable Colton Havard and Precinct 2 Constable Jeff McCoy went to serve an eviction notice at a home on Farm to Market Road 1004 near County Road 3089 in the Call Junction/Trout Creek Area. Due to the possibility of a volatile situation, Newton Police Chief Will Jackson went with them as backup. Once at the house, the couple refused to answer the door, so the officers chose to make forced entry. When they did, they were confronted by both a man and a woman with guns. As the officers were retreating out of the house, shots were fired which hit Chief Jackson in the back. A short time later, Newton County Sheriff Robert Burby arrived on scene and was able to help talk the man and woman in the house into surrendering peacefully, and they were both taken into custody. It was initially reported by officers at the scene that the shots fired by the woman struck Chief Jackson. However, later on Saturday afternoon Sheriff Burby said that further investigation indicated that the shots fired by the woman struck a wall, and it was the shots fired by the man that hit Jackson. Chief Jackson was transported by ambulance to St Elizabeth Hospital in Beaumont for further evaluation. Word is that Constable Havard had been trying for months to remove the individuals from the home, but had been unable to do so. The suspects in the shooting, L.C. Gosey, Jr. and Betty Richards were taken to the Newton County Jail where they later appeared before a judge and each charged with Attempted Capital Murder of a Police Officer. Bond on each suspect was set at $1 million.