Escaped Convict Prime Suspect in Shooting of Two Troopers

FREDONIA, N.Y. (AP) – Two state troopers were ambushed in Chautauqua County and the prime suspect is escaped convict Ralph “Bucky” Phillips, state police said Friday.Joseph Longobardo, 32, and Donald Baker Jr., 38, were shot at 6:10 p.m. Thursday, State Police Superintendent Wayne Bennett said. They were in critical condition early Friday.“It’s time for Bucky Phillips to go back to jail. Enough is enough,” Mr. Bennett said. “He has made threats against police officers via other individuals who either we or the Pennsylvania State Police have spoken to, so it is my opinion that he clearly would be the number one suspect in the shootings.”Police believe Phillips, 44, who escaped from jail in April, has been traveling back and forth between Philadelphia and western New York, Bennett said. On Friday morning, police were checking vechicles on roads approaching the New York state Thruway.Both troopers were shot once with what police believe is a high-powered rifle. One was shot in the back with a bullet that pierced his bullet-resistant vest and exited through his abdomen. The other officer was shot in the thigh and suffered massive blood loss due to a severed artery, Bennett said. Both men, based out of Troop G north of Albany, underwent surgery.“It’s clear to me the troopers were ambushed,” Mr. Bennett said.Neither trooper laid eyes on Phillips before they were shot. Neither returned fire. One radioed for help, Mr. Bennett said. Mr. Longobardo was transferred to Erie County Medical Center, and Mr. Baker was treated at Hamot Medical Center in Erie, Pa.They were doing surveillance in the rural town of Pomfret. Phillips’ ex-girlfriend, Kasey Crowe, who was charged last week with hindering prosecution for allegedly helping him, lives in Pomfret.Phillips’ daughter was charged last week with child endangerment, accused of letting Phillips near her children. Mr. Bennett said neither woman was in custody Thursday, either before or after the shootings.Mr. Bennett, who flew from Albany to the state police barracks in Fredonia, ordered 75 additional troopers to help with the manhunt around western New York.Phillips used a can opener to escape through the ceiling of the Erie County Jail on April 2, police said. He is wanted in the June 10 shooting of a state trooper near Elmira. Trooper Sean Brown survived after being shot in the abdomen as he approached a stolen car believed to be driven by Phillips.Since his escape, Phillips has woven his way around Western New York, evading police and helping himself to food, clothes and guns in unattended homes and hunting cabins, leaving a telltale trail of stolen vehicles along the way.Phillips is believed to have stolen about 15 cars since his escape and he is suspected in numerous burglaries, police said.Most recently, he was suspected of stealing numerous weapons from a Chautauqua County gun shop last weekend and a nearby car, state police said.A $50,000 reward offered for information leading to Phillips’ arrest and conviction has so far not stopped friends and family members from helping Phillips avoid capture, police said.

Escaped Convict Prime Suspect in Shooting of Two Troopers

Escaped Convict Prime Suspect in Shooting of Two Troopers

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