Texas Rangers Offer No Answers in Shooting Death of Lyle Blanchard

Navy veteran's shooting death still under investigation
Killeen Daily Herald
Jacob Brooks
October 22, 2016

Lyle P. Blanchard Courtesy photo Lyle P. Blanchard, 59, of Harker Heights, is seen in recent years. Blanchard was shot and killed on Aug. 30 by Bell County Sheriff's deputy Cpl. Shane Geers after a failed traffic stop and pursuit.

The Texas Rangers are still investigating a shooting death involving a Bell County deputy that claimed the life of a Navy veteran on the outskirts of Harker Heights nearly two months ago, the county district attorney said late Friday.

The case stems from an Aug. 30 shooting, in which Cpl. Shane Geers, with the Bell County Sheriff’s Department, shot and killed Lyle P. Blanchard on the private drive leading to Blanchard’s home after a failed traffic stop and short pursuit.
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Texas Ranger Finally Gets Bronze Star Medal After Vietnam War

Medal pinned on Texas Ranger's chest 45 years after he left Vietnam jungle
'This is for the soldiers,' Texas Ranger says of Army medal
Houston Chronicle
By Dane Schiller
December 27, 2015

Photo: Courtesy Of Joe Haralson
This photograph was taken in Vietnam in 1970 of Army soldiers Nicholas Clay Jasper, of Arkansas (left) and Joe Haralson, now a Texas Ranger based in Texas City, who was recently presented with a Bronze Star Medal for his service. The men went on reconnaissance missions together, and their friendship lasted after the war. Haralson is quick to note that he is just one of many who faced similar circumstances in combat.

By the summer of 1971, Joe Haralson had returned from the jungles of Vietnam, married his high school sweetheart and started his career as a Texas state trooper.

An envelope arrived in the mail from the U.S. government. It was larger than the one that came two years earlier telling him he'd been drafted into the Army.

This one held a citation stating he had earned the Bronze Star Medal for his actions in combat. There was no medal enclosed or a follow-up ceremony. That was fine with Haralson, who didn't feel the Army owed him a thing, as he'd returned home alive and unharmed - unlike so many others.

That would be the last he'd hear from the Army, until recently, when a general walked in on a meeting of Texas Rangers.
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FBI and Texas Rangers Investigate After Police Officer Found Dead

Police: Homicide suspected in off-duty Texas officer's death
CNN
By Catherine E. Shoichet
September 2, 2015

Story highlights
Police say Abilene Officer Don Allen's death is being treated as a homicide
They've described the manner of death as "suspicious," but haven't released details
There's no indication that "random law enforcement personnel are being targeted," chief says

(CNN)The death of an off-duty officer in Texas is being treated as a homicide, police said Tuesday.

Abilene Officer Don Allen was found dead Monday inside his home in Clyde. Investigators haven't released details about the manner of death, but have described it as "clearly suspicious."

"The circumstances behind his death indicate that the probable cause is homicide," police Chief Stan Standridge told reporters. "Aside from that, I'm not going to comment any further. ... I don't want to say anything today that would compromise our ability to hold these people accountable."

Texas Rangers are leading the investigation, with assistance from local police and the FBI.

Investigators haven't yet pinpointed a motive, and are pursuing numerous leads as they try to track down suspects, Standridge said.
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