Ashley Hunter
ECB Publishing, Inc.
Two people who were affiliated with the Jefferson County community lost their lives as a result of a vehicle wreck and shooting that took place on Friday, July 17, in Taylor County.
According to a report issued by the Perry Police Department (PPD), shortly after 3 p.m. officers were dispatched to the United States Post Office, on Jefferson Street in Perry, after 911 calls informed dispatchers that a car wreck had occurred in the area.
The 911 calls also reported that following the wreck, shots had been fired at the scene.
When PPD officers arrived at the scene, they gathered information about the event from witnesses and put out information pertaining to a suspect and the vehicle that the suspect had fled in.
Several minutes later, deputies with the Taylor County Sheriff's Office (TCSO) located the suspect as he drove north on US Highway 19. When deputies attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the suspect, the suspect fled in his vehicle, driving away at high speeds.
Deputies gave pursuit and followed the suspect to Harrison Blue Road, where the suspect's vehicle came to a stop. After stopping, the suspect began shooting at deputies, which resulted in a return of fire from the law enforcement officers at the scene.
Despite the shoot-out between the suspect and deputies, the PPD press release states that no deputies were harmed during the exchange of gunfire.
At the scene, two young children were discovered to be on the property and law enforcement officers managed to safely evacuate the two children away from the gunfire; there is no reported physical injury to either of the two children.
Eventually, the suspect surrendered and was taken into custody.
“The suspect was not injured during efforts to take him into custody. No members of the PPD or the TCSO were injured during any stages of this incident or investigation,” states the PPD.
Back at the scene of the wreck near the post office, two people were pronounced dead at the scene, having been killed in the initial incident that occurred as a result of the suspect's action.
The PPD has not officially released any information on the relationship between the suspect and his two victims, nor the identities of the two victims.
However, on Friday, July 17, at 5:53 p.m., Flatwoods Cafe (located in Lamont, Jefferson County) released a Facebook post informing their community that two of the pizza cafe's employees, Heather Arieuz Luther and Kirk Janksy, had been killed as a result of an incident in Perry. Social media posts and comments from the family members and friends of the two individuals corroborated the cafe's statements, with many linking the two deaths to the earlier wreck and shooting in Perry.
The suspect, Joseph E. Luther, 33, of Perry, has been arrested on the charges of: two counts of first-degree murder – premeditated, attempted first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer – premediated, shooting a deadly missile into a dwelling, vehicle or aircraft and failure to obey a law enforcement officers/fleeing.