MEDICAL LAKE – A man who was shot and injured in 2003 by a sheriff’s deputy in Billings, Mont., was shot and killed here Thursday by a Spokane County sheriff’s deputy.
Law enforcement officers in Billings identified the victim as Dustin Lowe, 29, who had a lengthy criminal record and was recently released from the Montana State Prison.
Thursday’s shooting occurred after the deputy investigated a suspicious vehicle on Highway 902 east of Medical Lake just before 9 a.m., Spokane County sheriff’s spokesman Cpl. Dave Reagan said.
A computer records check indicated the car had been stolen in Deer Lodge County, Mont., and the driver was being sought for questioning. A dispatcher advised the deputy that the man might be armed with a knife and had a history of attacking law enforcement officers, Reagan said.
Lowe was shot in the hand and the back by a Yellowstone County sheriff’s deputy during a scuffle in Billings in 2003 after Lowe said he had a gun and threatened to shoot the deputy.
Bob Anez, a spokesman for the Montana state Department of Corrections, said Lowe was released from prison Dec. 18, was suspected of stealing a car in Anaconda, Mont., and was considered a fugitive. Lowe’s criminal record dates back to 1994. His most recent conviction was for drug possession in Sanders County, Mont., in 2003.
Reagan said the man fled as the deputy approached, and the deputy chased him into a nearby field. After a brief chase, the deputy fired, killing the man, Reagan said. Lowe died at the scene.
It was not known why the deputy fired or whether any weapons were found.
The Spokane Police Department was assisting the sheriff’s office in the shooting investigation. The veteran Spokane County deputy, whose name was not released, was placed on routine administrative leave, Reagan said.
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