AR:Off Duty Deputy Stops Carjack/Kidnapping

Justin Wayne Higgins

The situation started as a "domestic" call.  The man shot, Justin Wayne Higgins, was only 23 and had a long criminal history.   From tulsaworld.com:

Court records indicate Higgins has prior convictions in Muskogee County for methamphetamine possession, first and second-degree burglary, larceny of an automobile and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Higgins had a bench warrant against him for failure to comply with the suspended sentence he received for the drug conviction, records show.

 Investigators believe that Higgins had fled the initial call on foot, then carjacked a vehicle to return to the scene of the domestic call.  He is said to have started firing at three officers who had responded to the call.   The off duty deputy was in the area with a friend and young children.  He heard the firing and left them to investigate.  From the swtimes.com:

When the deputy walked back a block toward Belhaven View Court, he saw Higgins pointing a gun at his friend’s head, who was sitting in a red pickup with the young children in the vehicle. The deputy drew his firearm, and Higgins pointed back before the deputy heard a click coming from Higgins’ handgun.

The deputy fired two shots, at least one of which struck Higgins, killing him. 

The suspended sentence was for a methamphetamine arrest and guilty plea. 

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