On December 14, 2023 at 3:03 a.m. a Mesquite Police Officer located a stolen Hyundai sedan in the area of Cartwright Rd. and Faithon P. Lucas Blvd. in Mesquite. The officer observed that the stolen vehicle was being followed by a Chrysler sedan as the two vehicles were passing the officer in the opposite direction on Cartwright Rd.
When the officer returned to the intersection, he observed both vehicles were now parked at gas pumps at the 7-11 at this location. The officer approached the stolen Hyundai and found it to be unoccupied. The officer then walked to the Chrysler sedan and found it to be occupied by four individuals. As the officer was interacting with the occupants in the Chrysler sedan, he observed two males fleeing on foot behind the store, described as two Black males both wearing black hoodies and sweatpants.
The officer provided the descriptions of the fleeing suspects to incoming officers and began giving commands to the occupants inside the Chrysler sedan. The driver of the Chrysler sedan was uncooperative with commands to turn off the vehicle as well as commands to stop moving the vehicle. The driver continued making furtive movements inside the vehicle and during the course of the encounter the officer fired three rounds, striking the driver.
The Chrysler sedan then rolled until it came to a stop on a curb on the North side of the parking lot. The three other subjects in the vehicle were detained. Officers performed life saving measures on the driver, and he was pronounced deceased on scene. Multiple firearms were recovered from the Chrysler sedan.
Mesquite officers, along with DPS 101 helicopter and Mesquite Police K9, searched for the two subjects that fled and were unable to locate them.
The deceased subject was identified as Payton Lawrence, a 19-year-old male from Mesquite. Two of the subjects inside the Chrysler were questioned and released. The third subject was arrested and identified as Kevon Moore, a 19-year-old male from Dallas. Moore is being charged with outstanding warrants.
The involved officer has been with the Mesquite Police Department for seventeen years. This is an ongoing investigation and more details will be released as they become available.
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Body Cam Footage of the Fatal Police Involved Shooting at the 7/Eleven In Mesquite, Texas
