Kentucky sheriff's deputy fatally shot during traffic stop

GEORGETOWN, Ky. -- A Kentucky sheriff’s deputy was shot and killed during a traffic stop by a man who fled and wounded another man during a carjacking before being taken into custody, officials said.

Scott County Sheriff’s Deputy Caleb Conley, 35, was shot Monday evening during a traffic stop on Interstate 75 near Georgetown just before 5 p.m., and the shooter fled, Sheriff Tony Hampton said at a news conference.

Someone called in to report that a deputy had been shot, and responders arrived relatively quickly, Hampton said. He did not know why the vehicle was pulled over.

Conley was taken to a hospital, where he later died, Kentucky State Police said in a news release. A state police team is investigating the shooting at the request of the sheriff’s office, officials said.

About an hour after Conley was shot, officers in nearby Lexington were dispatched to a shooting on Georgetown Road and found a male victim who said another man shot him and stole his vehicle, according to police.

Police said they used a license plate reader system, traffic cameras and other information to locate the stolen vehicle and then found the suspect, Steven Sheangshang, 45, at a nearby home.

Sheangshang was jailed on Tuesday and charged with assault, robbery, possession of a handgun by a convicted felon and tampering with evidence, Lexington Police said. He was already wanted on charges of unlawfully entering and burglarizing a garage and he was also charged with two warrants for second-degree burglary, police said.

Fayette County Detention Center spokesman Maj. Matt Lemonds said Sheangshang was also being held on charges from Scott County, including murder of a police officer, possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, burglary, theft of an automobile, wanton endangerment and fleeing/evading police in connection to Conley’s death.

“This hero made the ultimate sacrifice, and we will be forever grateful,” Gov. Andy Beshear said in a statement about the deputy.

Conley, who had been with the sheriff’s office for four years and served in the U.S. Army for eight years before that, took his job seriously, Hampton said. Survivors include his wife and small children.

“He was just a go-getter and he loved his job, and it’s a shame that it got cut short because he loved this job so much and he was so good at it,” Hampton said.