In the early morning hours of October 17, 1995, a routine traffic stop on a dark stretch of Route 13 near Perry Road in Westover, Maryland, turned deadly for a 28-year-old state trooper. Trooper First Class Edward A. Plank, a seven-year veteran of the Maryland State Police, had pulled over a vehicle for speeding. As he engaged with the driver, his suspicion was aroused, prompting him to call for backup.
After conferring with the newly arrived officer, Trooper Plank approached the car a second time. It was then that he was fatally shot in the face at point-blank range. The trooper, a husband and father to a 7-month-old daughter, died later that morning at a Maryland hospital.
The two men in the vehicle, Ivan Fitzherbert Lovell, 25, and his cousin, William Smith Lynch, 21, immediately fled the scene. Inside their car was a significant quantity of cocaine, which they had been transporting from New York. A manhunt ensued, and both suspects were apprehended later the same day. One of the men was captured after breaking into a nearby house, where the homeowner, after being shot at, subdued him with an empty rifle until law enforcement arrived.
The investigation revealed that the men had a history of drug-related offenses. Ivan Lovell, the shooter, was charged with first-degree murder. In May 1996, he pleaded guilty and was subsequently sentenced to death. However, in July 1998, his death sentence was overturned, and he was resentenced to life in prison. William Lynch faced charges for drug and handgun violations and received a 20-year sentence. The tragic death of Trooper Plank left a lasting impact on his family and the law enforcement community, a painful reminder of the dangers faced by officers in the line of duty.
