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Friday, April 8, 2011

Man killed in struggle over gun

4-8-2011 Texas:

HUNTSVILLE — A convicted sex offender was killed Wednesday during a struggle over a gun with Walker County Sheriff’s Office deputies.

Curtis Wayne Moritz, 27, was killed by two gunshot wounds to the chest while officers were in his home performing a standard sex offender compliance check. Officers from the sheriff’s office, as well as the U.S. Marshals, the Texas Attorney General’s Office and all four Walker County Constables were assisting in checks throughout the county Wednesday.

According to a press release from Walker County Sheriff’s Lt. Charles Perkins, two officers arrived at Mortiz’s home on FM 1791 to perform the check, when Moritz became nervous and drew a handgun. One of the officers, whose name was not released, struggled to get the gun away from Moritz, but the gun went off twice during the struggle, both times striking Moritz in the chest. Emergency medical services were called to the scenes, but Moritz was dead before they arrived.

“It is unknown if Moritz intended to harm the officers or just himself at this time,” the WCSO said in the press release. “Neither of the officers conducting the check received any major injuries during this incident. The officers’ names are being with held at this time.”

Moritz’s body was taken to the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy. The WCSO and the Texas Rangers are investigating the incident.

Moritz was a fifth-grade teacher at Alpha Omega Academy until he was fired in February 2010 after an arrest for possession of child pornography. Pornographic images of children were found both on his home computer and on a portable electronic device belonging to him. According to the WCSO, all of the images were downloaded from foreign websites.

Sheriff Clint McRae said Moritz was convicted as a sex offender and received probation in March 2011. The visit Wednesday was his first sex offender compliance check since entering the state registry. ..Source.. by Matthew Jackson, Staff Reporter

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