https://www.myleaderpaper.com/news/police_fire/update-sheriff-s-office-identifies-man-killed-in-shootout-friday-night/article_9af577d0-c0ec-11eb-b97d-2fcc4dc792db.htmlBROADCAST: UPDATE: The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office has identified the 36-year-old Cedar Hill man killed during a shootout with deputies Friday night at a Cedar Hill-area home.
The man killed in a shootout with Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office deputies Friday night (May 28) at a Cedar Hill-area home has been identified.
Sheriff Dave Marshak announced on his Twitter account today (May 29) that
Anthony Legens, 36, of Cedar Hill was shot and killed. A member of the Sheriff’s Office SWAT team also was shot in the incident, and he is currently recovering following surgery in an area hospital, the department reported.
The SWAT team member has not been identified, although Marshak said the deputy has been with the Sheriff’s Office for the past six years.
Marshak also said a dead body was found in the home where the shootout occurred. He did not identify the body, but he wrote in a post on social media that the person was dead prior to Legens and deputies exchanging gunfire.
Legens was a “target” in at least one recent missing person case, and the Sheriff’s Office SWAT team members and detectives found him at the home in the 8000 block of Lake Drive south of Cedar Hill where they went to serve a search warrant in connection with a missing person and possible homicide, Marshak reported.
Marshak said authorities were at the home on Lake Drive gathering information before Legens was aware of their presence. Sheriff’s Office spokesman Grant Bissell said SWAT team members and detectives announced they were outside the home between about 9-9:30 p.m., and Legens allegedly started shooting at the deputies.
At about 10:45 p.m., the deputy was shot. The injury occurred about an hour into the exchange of gunfire, and the situation continued until the suspect was shot and killed, the Sheriff’s Office said in a written statement.
“The suspect was actively trying to kill police officers this evening,” Marshak said in a Facebook video. “He even shot at our armored vehicles.”
The injured deputy’s surgery concluded at about 5 a.m. today.
“Our deputy continues to improve after surgery and is in good spirits,” Marshak wrote in a Twitter post.
The deputy had been struck in his lower extremities below his tactical vest.
“He is a SWAT officer, well trained,” Marshak said the video. “He is a great officer. If anyone can pull through, I think he is going to be fine.”
Marshak said in the video that he didn’t know how many other deputies were involved in the incident.
Legens had numerous previous encounters with law enforcement officials and has pleaded guilty to a variety of offenses, including assault, felonious restraint, burglary, stealing, assaulting law enforcement officers, domestic assault, driving while intoxicated, possession of an illegal weapon and felony and misdemeanor drug charges, court records show.
He pleaded guilty at least eight times to felony or misdemeanor offenses since 2004, and he was scheduled to appear in court for at least two felony charges – a plea hearing June 15 for a class E felony persistent DWI charge, and an initial appearance scheduled for July 12 for a third-degree domestic assault charge, a class E felony, court records said.
In 2004, Legens pleaded guilty to felony and misdemeanor charges on at least four different occasions in Jefferson County. He had been sentenced to four years in prison for felony burglary and stealing charges stemming for a 2002 incident, and he also received a four-year sentence for felony possession of a controlled substance and misdemeanor resisting arrest charges stemming from a 2004 incident, according to court documents.
Also in 2004, Legens pleaded guilty to misdemeanor trespassing, resisting arrest and property damage charges and was sentenced to 30 days in jail, and he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor leaving the scene of an accident, resisting arrest, unlawful possession of a weapon, DWI and driving with a revoked license, court records said.
In 2005, Legens pleaded guilty to a felony possession of a controlled substance charge as well as misdemeanor charges for possession of marijuana, driving with a revoked license and DWI in Franklin County after a 2004 incident. He was sentenced to four years in prison, court documents show.
In 2006, he pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges for assaulting law enforcement officials, while he was serving a four-year sentence. He was given a 120-day jail sentence that was served concurrently, or along with, the four-year sentence, court records said.
Also in 2006, Legens pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges for possession of marijuana, unlawful use of drug paraphernalia and driving with a revoked license in Franklin County. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail, and that sentence also was served with his four-year sentence, according to court records.
In 2017, Legens pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and felonious restraint, both class C felonies, following a 2015 incident in Herculaneum. He was sentenced to five years in prison, court records show.
Court documents do not indicate when or why he was released from the five-year prison sentence.