A Hunt County jury deliberated for more than five hours before acquitting Shaun Lucas in the death of Jonathan Price. Lucas was an officer in Wolf City, where Price, who had played at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, was a city employee, personal trainer and bodybuilder with dreams of starting his own gym. Lucas was charged with Price’s murder on the night of October 3, 2020, and was fired by the police five days later. Wolfe City, about 70 miles (96 kilometers) northeast of Dallas and near the Texas-Oklahoma border, has a population of about 1,500. It was never clear from the witness statement what sparked the argument between Price and another man. Nicholas Malone testified that he, his brother and Price had been drinking after Malone’s father’s funeral when they decided to go to the convenience store to buy cigarettes. The three remained in the store when Malone heard glass break and saw Price fighting with another man. “My brother and I tried to break them up,” Malone said, adding that the argument continued “for a few seconds” before the two were separated and everyone appeared to calm down before Lucas arrived. When Lucas, who is white, responded to the report of the fight, Price greeted him with an outstretched hand and an apology for the broken glass. Lucas decided Price was drunk and tried to restrain him, but Price resisted. Lucas used a stun gun when Price approached, then shot Price when he reached for the gun, according to a police affidavit. The Texas Rangers concluded that deadly force was not called for in the confrontation since Price was unarmed. Eleven witnesses at the scene testified that Price was not angry or aggressive in his reactions, Prosecutor Steven Lilley reminded Hunt County jurors in closing arguments Thursday. “He’s dead. He was killed that night,” Lilley said of Price. “If it wasn’t necessary, it was murder. Go back and find the culprit.” Defense attorney Robert Rogers argued that Lucas had no choice but to shoot Price in self-defense “because he was terrified. That’s the only reason he fired his gun.” Lucas had been with the Wolf City Police Department for just under six months when he shot Price, according to Texas Law Enforcement Commission records. His previous law enforcement experience was working as a jailer for the Hunt County Sheriff’s Office for about five months.
