Capital murder warrant issued for suspect in trooper's death

KELLYVILLE (AP) - A capital murder warrant has been issued for a former police officer who is the main suspect in the shooting death of a Department of Public Safety trooper, officials said.

Authorities issued a statewide search and a capital murder warrant for 37-year-old Brandon Wayne Robertson of Tyler on Wednesday, Department of Public Safety Trooper Jean Dark said.

Robertson is wanted in the shooting death of Trooper James Scott Burns, 39, who was killed Tuesday night after pulling over a car near Lake O' The Pines in East Texas.

Burns didn't have a chance to remove his seat belt as he stopped his patrol car, just before getting shot multiple times with a shotgun, authorities said. Robertson was an East Texas police officer for seven years at departments in Rusk County, Overton and Kilgore, according to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Education.

Robertson was arrested by Department of Public Safety troopers as recently as April 6, when he was charged in Cherokee County with possession of a controlled substance. He posted a $7,500 bond the next day.

DPS Trooper and spokeswoman Sylvia Jennings said she did not know what prompted the pursuit that ended with Burns' death.

Authorities described Robertson as white with green eyes and red hair, standing 6-foot-2 and weighing 250 pounds. Authorities are also looking for a 1997 blue Dodge Intrepid with Texas license 039-LCG.

A group of East Texas businesses and district attorney's offices are offering a $30,000 award for information leading to the arrest and indictment of Burns' killer.