Shooting kills man, puts another in hospital & lands yet another in jail

BOWIE COUNTY, Texas (KSLA) — A man is dead, another is injured, and yet another is in police custody following a shooting in east Texas.

It happened about 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 24 about 10 miles southwest of Texarkana and about a dozen miles north of Queen City in the 200 block of Horseshoe Loop Road.

Authorities say the slain man was found in woods behind a travel trailer along Horseshoe Loop. The wounded man was taken to a hospital. Authorities described his condition as life-threatening. On Monday, Oct. 25, the Bowie County Sheriff’s Office identified the man killed as Roger Franklin Cowley, 63, of Texarkana, Texas.

Bowie County sheriff’s deputies have arrested 51-year-old Thomas Wayne Lawson Sr. The Atlanta, Texas man is being held in Bi-State Detention Center on one count each of murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, booking records show. Lawson was also reportedly found to be in possession of a small amount of meth. For that, he’s facing a charge of possession of a controlled dangerous substance (methamphetamine) under 1 gram.

Lawson’s bond has been set at $1,000,000 for the murder charge, $300,000 for the aggravated assault charge, and $5,000 for the possession charge, for a total of $1,305,000.

Sheriff’s office officials say when they approached the home, they found that Lawson was still armed with a rifle. A witness reportedly told them he heard gunshots and spoke with Lawson, who admitted to shooting the two men.

There’s no immediate word on his connection to the other two men. No information has been shared on a possible motive for the shooting nor on how it happened.

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