DONLEY COUNTY, Texas — Two people died in a shootout with law enforcement in the Texas Panhandle after they were caught trying to smuggle $3.4 million worth of cocaine to Tennessee, police said. 

What You Need To Know

  • The couple, Elizabeth and Edward Stevenson, were being investigated by the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office in Tennessee for selling drugs

  • While searching the couple's home, detectives received information that the couple was driving a semi-trailer through Texas with illegal drugs and that both of them were armed

  • Donley County sheriff’s deputies attempted to stop the couple, but they fled with the truck for several miles before they stopped. Elizabeth and Edward Stevenson then exited the truck and shot at law enforcement, which resulted in the couple’s deaths

  • Law enforcement searched the semi-trailer and found approximately 64 pounds of what they suspect to be cocaine, which would be valued at about $3.4 million on the streets

The couple, Elizabeth and Edward Stevenson, were being investigated by the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office in Tennessee for selling drugs. Undercover officers purchased illegal drugs from them, which resulted in a search warrant being issued on May 9. 

Detectives found three-fourths of a pound of what they believed to be methamphetamine, as well as suspected fentanyl, multiple firearms, body armor and ammunition inside their home. 

While conducting the search, the detectives received information that the couple was driving a semi-trailer through Texas with illegal drugs and that both of them were armed. 

“Both individuals had also made previous statements that they would die by ‘suicide by cop,’ if law enforcement attempted to stop them,” a news release from the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office said. 

Detectives notified the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Donley County Sheriff’s Office. 

Donley County sheriff’s deputies attempted to stop the couple, but they fled with the truck for several miles before they stopped. Elizabeth and Edward Stevenson then exited the truck and shot at law enforcement, which resulted in the couple’s deaths. 

Law enforcement searched the semi-trailer and found approximately 64 pounds of what they suspect to be cocaine, which would be valued at about $3.4 million on the streets.