Two men charged in shooting of Texas Game Warden




Two men have been arrested and charged in connection with the shooting of a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department game warden earlier this week. Booked into the Delta County jail in Cooper were Eli Stephens, 18, and Dalton Haddix, 21, both of Illinois. Stephens has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony. Haddix was charged with failure to report a felony, a Class A misdemeanor. The two men, who came to Texas for the holidays, were taken into custody by game wardens Tuesday afternoon following an investigation by TPWD game wardens, Texas Rangers and the Delta County Sheriff's Office. The charges stem from the Sunday shooting of Game Warden Chris Fried, 31, of Cooper. Fried had been off duty and bow hunting on the Cooper Wildlife Management Area when the incident occurred around 6 p.m. The warden remains in stable condition in the intensive care unit of Parkland Hospital in Dallas, where he underwent surgery early Monday for a gunshot wound from a high-powered rifle bullet that entered his upper right shoulder and lodged in his chest. According to investigators, Fried had been sitting in a blind on the 14,160-acre wildlife management area, hoping to take a deer, when he saw a light and heard what he believed to be a electronic game call. Thinking someone might be illegally hunting on state property, the warden went into law enforcement mode and left his stand to investigate. Moments later, as he walked toward the light, Fried was struck by a bullet. The warden yelled, "You shot me!" but no one responded or came to his aid. Fried then used his cell phone to call for help. Investigators have determined that the shot came from private property adjacent to the WMA. Information from a Delta County resident familiar with the area led wardens to the two defendants.




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Fishing Report from TPWD (May 21)

EXCELLENT. stained; 77 degrees; 0.02 feet full pool. The hybrid striped bass and white bass have made a full recovery from the spawn and are now back in the main lake in droves and are on a feeding frenzy! Start looking for heavy bird activity throughout the lake on flats and near the Dam on edges of drop offs especially on cloudy and overcast days. Focus on using slabs on drop offs and along seawalls early in the mornings in depth of 5-14 feet. Reports of great catches using silver or white slabs and spinners and retrieving off the bottom at a very slow retrieve to catch these fish in depths of 17-26 feet of water. The crappie have also migrated back into the main lake. Look for them under bridge pylons or under docks where the depths are between 3-10 feet. Guides have been reporting exceptionally nice catches on sunny warmer days. Report by Brent Herbeck, Herbeck’s Lonestar Fishing Guide Service. Shad spawn is nearing an end, but there continues to be a good early shallow bite on and around points and windy shoreline. Drifting in 15-25 feet of water is consistently producing bigger fish. Report by Jason Barber, Kings Creek Adventures. As we enjoy a weekend of fishing we salute and honor our Nation’s heroes this Memorial Day. Anticipate increased recreational boater traffic this weekend.

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