Updated: Warren man who killed Connecticut State Trooper in Texas hog hunting accident won’t face charges

Wed, 02/10/2016 - 8:45pm

    MAVERICK COUNTY, Texas — The Maverick County Sheriff’s Office investigator in charge of the case involving Alvin Chase Sr., 72, of Warren, who shot and killed a Connecticut State trooper Feb. 6 in a reported hunting accident in Maverick County, Texas, won’t face charges in the incident.

    Killed in the incident was 50-year-old Stephen Davis of Hebron, Conn., a friend of the Chase family.

    “The autopsy was completed and the medical examiner determined that the injuries were consistent with Mr. Chase’s statements, and that it was an accident,” said Maverick County Sheriff’s Investigator Robert Sifuentes on the phone Wednesday. “I have spoken with the Texas Rangers, who took over the investigation, and based on where it has led it’s unlikely Mr. Chase will face any charges.”

    Sifuentes said that Chase and Davis were hunting together, with a party of about six people that included Chase’s son, Alvin Jr., among the group. He said that Davis and the elder Chase headed out together at dusk Saturday evening, and Davis was attempting to flush what he thought was some wild boar about 40 yards away from Chase. Sifuentes said that Davis was wearing a dark shirt, and was on his hands and knees, ducking under a fence, when he was struck by a single round from Chase’s Winchester lever action 308-caliber rifle.

    The bullet entered near Davis’s left armpit and exited through the upper part of his sternum. He was declared dead by a justice of the peace at 7:22 p.m. that evening.

    Sheriff’s deputies and EMS crews were dispatched to Cinco Ranch on FM1021 at approximately 6:34 p.m. that night. Maverick County is located southwest of San Antonio, along the Mexico border.

    At the location, contact was made with United States Border Patrol agents, who led deputies to the scene of the accident.

    Upon arrival, the deputy noticed a male subject, later identified as Davis, laying in the brush face up and unresponsive. Davis was found with an apparent wound to the left side of his torso.

    At the scene, Chase told law enforcement that while hunting, he shot at a wild hog and accidentally struck Davis. Chase further stated he approached Davis and noticed he was on his hands and knees on the ground, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

    According to NBC News 5 Dallas-Fort Worth and Sifuentes, Davis was a Connecticut State Trooper 1st Class and a 27-year veteran. He worked out of the Troop C barracks in Tolland.


    Reach Editorial Director Holly S. Edwards at hollyedwards@penbaypilot.com and 207-706-6655.