Illegal Immigrant Arrest Linked To Police Shooting
Hector Mercado Had Been Deported In 2004
POSTED: 9:44 pm CDT September 8, 2010

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Police said a man who may have sparked a police shooting last month was in the United States illegally.

Hector Mercado was deported in 2004, but was arrested in Oklahoma City on suspicion of drunken driving last month.

Investigators said Mercado's arrest may have sparked the shooting of Officer Katie Lawson, who police said was ambushed moments after the arrest.

Police said Mercado's family members are responsible for the shooting.

http://www.koco.com/r/24934708/detail.html
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Original Story:

Three Arrested in Ambush of Oklahoma Officer

Posted: Monday, August 30, 2010
Updated: August 31st, 2010 09:40 AM GMT-05:00

BY BOBERT MEDLEY
The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City

Police arrested three people today in connection with the shooting of an Oklahoma City police officer on patrol Sunday night, officials said.

Alex Mercado, 16, Hector Escalante, 18, and Vilma Escalante, 52, were arrested on complaints of shooting with intent to kill.

Police officer Katie Lawson, 27, was shot multiple times about 10:45 p.m. Sunday in northwest Oklahoma City, police Capt. Patrick Stewart said.

Hector Mercado, 42, who police said is the father of Alex Mercado and Hector Escalante, was arrested on a public intoxication complaint in connection with a traffic stop that preceded the shooting. Police were not immediately certain how Vilma Escalante is related to the other people arrested.

Lawson, who has been a police officer four years, was leaving a traffic stop initiated by Oklahoma County sheriff's deputies when rapid gunfire hit her and the patrol car near NW 38 and N Miller Ave., Stewart said. Lawson was able to get out of the patrol car and return fire.

"Fortunately, she is in good condition right now," Stewart said this morning. Lawson was taken to OU Medical Center where she was being treated, he said.

Stewart said detectives have not interviewed Lawson and are not sure if she had stopped her car before the ambush.

Hector Mercado was originally arrested on suspicion of DUI, but officers did not give him a breathalyzer test within the required two-hour period after the stop because of the shooting and resulting investigation, Stewart said. The complaint on which he was arrested was changed to public intoxication.

The other three were taken into custody for questioning at the scene, and they were arrested after being interviewed at police headquarters, Stewart said.

Tactical team members surrounded a house at 2705 NW 38 at sunup, and a sweep of the house was made after a search warrant was obtained, Stewart said. No one was found inside but the house may have contained evidence, he said.

Investigators marked several shell casings in a parking lot on the north side of a stockade fence and just west of where Lawson's patrol car remained this morning.

Stewart said a sheriff's deputy reported seeing a vehicle being driven erratically at NW 23 and N Villa Avenue about 10:20 p.m. Sunday. The driver did not stop until arriving about 10:30 p.m. at his house at 2705 NW 38, which is the house officers searched this morning.

Mercado, the only person in the vehicle, was detained and then taken into custody, Stewart said.

The deputy requested assistance from Oklahoma City police and Lawson arrived about 10:20 p.m. after the stop was made.

"Everything appeared to be handled on that call and she got back in her car," Stewart said.

As Lawson drove north about 10:45 p.m., a Hispanic male ambushed her, opening fire, Stewart said.

The officer was heard on a scanner saying, "I have been shot," and requesting an ambulance.

"She was ambushed by this person or by these persons. It was just a straight ambush," Stewart said.

Stewart said he could not recall the last time an Oklahoma City officer was shot in an apparent ambush. He said Lawson was hit "multiple times," but he would not say where she was struck. Nor did he know if the shooter was hit when she returned fire.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service
http://www.officer.com/online/article.j ... 1&id=54174