User:Lan023/sandbox

Article Evaluation
Evaluation of the article: "Texas Department of Public Safety"

As of 9-17-2018, only 2 of the reference page links work and the rest lead to websites in which the relevant articles no longer exist. The references need to be edited accordingly by providing links the up to date Census Bureau information and newspaper articles. References which require updating includes the "DPS corruption and FBI intervention" section which contains a block of text with several references to an FBI press release which no longer exists. Perhaps I could locate an alternative newspaper source or sift through the FBI's archives.

The DPS has a range of divisions under its umbrella and being that the the Texas Highway Patrol is the most common and noticeable, I think that the gallery section should include more pictures of police uniforms, vehicles, offices, and equipment to provide a better visual understanding for wiki users.

The "History" section following the opening paragraph is completely blank and needs content added. Academic or scholarly articles would be the best option to provide facts about the department's founding and other relevant laws as they relate to the government of Texas.

The subsection "Intelligence and Counterterrorism Division" contains 2 paragraphs which contain no citations, leading me to believe one of the editors has conducted original research on this topic.

Lan023 (talk) 13:14, 18 September 2018 (UTC)

Atascosa County Ambush
The Atascosa County Ambush was a surprise attack outside of Pleasanton, Texas on the evening of October 12, 1999 which resulted in the deaths of Trooper Terry Wayne Miller and deputies Mark Stephenson and Thomas Monse, Jr. of the Atascosa County Sheriff's Department. An additional two officers which subsequently arrived on scene were met with a hail of gunfire and succumbed to non-life threatening gun shot wounds.

The perpetrator, Jeremiah Justin Engleton, placed a phony 9-1-1 call on the night of October 12, 1999 to his residence prompting Deputy Stephenson and Deputy Monse to respond. Upon their arrival, the two deputies were met with gunfire from a high-powered rifle from an Engleton who was hiding in a ditch across the street from his mobile home. Both deputies died on scene while radioing for assistance as they sat in their police cruiser. Afterwards Engleton retrieved a Glock .40-caliber semiautomatic service pistol from the one of the bodies of the slain officers before returning to the ditch.

Trooper Terry Wayne Miller arrived on scene, discovered the two bodies of the deputies, radioed in for assistance, and was shot and killed before he was able to remove his seatbelt. Moments later an additional two deputies arrived on scene and were met with a barrage of gunfire which resulted in both deputies being struck in the arm. The two injured deputies were saved by an unidentified San Antonio man who dodged bullets to assist them into his pickup truck before speeding off. As more law enforcement officers converged on the scene of the crime, Jeremiah Engleton turned the handgun he had retrieved earlier from a dead officer on himself and committed suicide.

Several firearms were found on Jeremiah Engleton's body, of which included a SKS Norenco 7.62 x 39mm semiautomatic rifle, a Mossberg 12-gauge pump-action shotgun, a Ruger 9mm semiautomatic handgun, a Glock .40-caliber semiautomatic handgun, and a Lorcin .380-caliber semiautomatic handgun. Investigators also discovered a suicide note hidden in Engleton's right shoe. In the end over a hundred expensed rifle and shotgun casings littered the ground as well as the bodies of three law enforcement officers and the gunman.

Aftermath
Shortly thereafter it was discovered that Engleton's then roommate, Kenneth Vodochodsky, was an accomplice in the purchasing of ammunition to carry out the ambush on officers. Vodochodsky had posted Englton's bail the previous day for an arrest on an unrelated incident involving arresting officer Thomas Monse, one of the first deputies slain in the ambush. The pair were seen making purchases at a gun shop just hours after Englton had been released from jail. Kenneth Vodochodsky was subsequently arrested on October 15, 1999 and pleaded guilty to two counts of murder and was initially sentenced to death on March 2, 2001 for his role in the triple murder. The conviction was later appealed and Vodchodsky was sentenced to 30 years in prison under a plea agreement. Kenneth Vodochodsky was denied parole in 2015 and will be eligible again in March 2020.