Deputies on administrative leave after fatal shooting

Two Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) deputies were placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation into the fatal shooting of a motorcyclist during the early morning hours of Feb. 7.

According to a JCSO statement, at 1:04 a.m., a deputy was patrolling eastbound on US. Highway 90 when he observed a motorcycle traveling westbound in the eastbound lane. The deputy activated his lights and siren and conducted a traffic stop on U.S. Highway 90 near Broadway Street in China. 

JCSO reported the motorcyclist stopped and pulled out a handgun and fired at the deputies. Deputies returned fire, and the shooter fell to the ground. Deputies reportedly administered first aid until paramedics arrived, but the shooter died at the scene.

Investigators recovered the deceased’s firearm at the scene and, after preliminary analysis, reported that the motorcyclist turned his own firearm on himself after firing at deputies. The deceased has been identified as 33-year-old Brandon Wilder of Indiana. During the investigation, JCSO further reports, it was found that Wilder had an outstanding felony warrant in Texas at the time of his death.