UPDATE: Suspect shot female deputy multiple times before apparent suicide in Gibson Co., Sheriff says

UPDATE: (6/20/23) Lauderdale County Sheriff Brian Kelley released additional information Tuesday morning regarding the death of La’Rico Farmer. Sheriff Kelley says prior to Farmer’s apparent suicide on Sunday, Farmer “brutally assaulted” Deputy Jereka Maclin, the mother of Farmer’s child. Sheriff Kelley says Maclin is currently undergoing treatment and is expected to recover.

**** For Immediate Release****

On Sunday, June 18, 2023, while most were preparing to celebrate Fathers Day, Deputy Jereka Maclin was brutally assaulted by the estranged father of her child.
During the early hours, La’Rico Farmer entered the bedroom of Deputy Maclin and their minor child and subsequently shot her in the head and face two times with a 40-caliber firearm. Farmer fled the scene and later wrecked his vehicle in Dyer County, TN as Deputy Maclin was fighting for her life.

After a multi-agency search, Farmer was located at a residence in Trenton, TN, where Farmer took his own life before being apprehended by law enforcement.
During the investigation, it was determined that Eric Claybrooks assisted Farmer in evading law enforcement capture, which allowed Farmer to flee from Dyer County and subsequently travel to Trenton. Claybrooks is currently being held in the Lauderdale County Jail and facing multiple charges related to his involvement in this crime.

Deputy Maclin is a School Resource Officer (SRO) with the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office who is scheduled to graduate from the Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy on Friday, June 23rd. Deputy Maclin is a single mother of one child and has a passion for helping the youth of Lauderdale County, and this is why she chose a career as an SRO. Deputy Maclin’s grit, strength and will to live are second to none as she is alert and recovering at the Regional One Medical Center in Memphis, TN. Though her injuries are severe and her journey is far from over, she is expected to recover fully.

The collaboration between departments during this time of need were unprecedented. When the call come out, agencies from across West Tennessee quickly came together to ensure that justice was brought to such a brutal and senseless crime.

Sheriff Brian Kelley and the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank all the agencies who assisted and ask that everyone continue to pray for the family of Deputy Maclin as she recovers.

Ripley Police Department
Halls Police Department
Dyer County Sheriff’s Office
Dyersburg Police Department
Tipton County Sheriff’s Office
Tennessee Highway Patrol
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy
United States Marshal Service

EARLIER STORY:

GIBSON COUNTY, Tenn. — A shooting death in occurs Dyer.

According to call from a WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News Tipster, a possible shooting has occurred in Dyer.

The call came in around 4 p.m. Sunday evening. The caller stated there was a large police presence and streets blocked off in the area around Freemont Street about half a block from the nearby park.

When our crews arrived on the scene around 5:05 p.m., we observed a police tape barrier surrounding the residence at 167 Freemont Street in Dyer. Our crews witnessed unmarked cars along with Dyer Police officers. We also observed TBI agents entering and exiting the residence. At one point agents could be seen removing brown paper bags from the home and searching a vehicle. The scene was wrapped and police barrier removed from the area by around 6 p.m.

We reached out to TBI, and received the following information:

At the request of 28th Judicial District Attorney General Frederick Agee, TBI special agents are investigating the death of an individual in the 100 block of Fremont Street in Dyer. The deceased individual, identified as Larico B. Farmer (DOB: 2/4/90) of Henning, was being sought in connection to a shooting in Ripley early Sunday morning.  Law enforcement determined the address in Dyer as a possible location for Farmer. According to reports from the scene, as law enforcement approached the house, gunfire was heard inside.  No law enforcement officers are believed to have fired their weapons.  This remains an active and ongoing investigation.

Stay tuned to WBBJ-7 Eyewitness news on air and online, as we get more information on this story.

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