In the early morning hours of February 3, 1977, Lieutenant Edward Lee Worrell, a male officer with the Texarkana Arkansas Police Department, responded to a burglary in progress at Howard's Discount Center on North Stateline Avenue. Accompanied by his partner, Patrolman James 'Butch' Clark, Worrell arrived at the scene unaware of the deadly ambush that awaited them. As the two officers exited their patrol car, they were met with gunfire from a high-powered rifle.
Both men were struck, and Lieutenant Worrell succumbed to his wounds an hour later at a local hospital.
The investigation swiftly led to the apprehension of three juvenile suspects. The shooter was identified as fifteen-year-old John Lohbauer, who had been acting as a lookout from a nearby parking lot while his two companions burglarized the store. The motive for the break-in was to steal ammunition. Lohbauer's two accomplices were arrested inside the business, and Lohbauer himself was taken into custody a short time later at a convenience store.
In the aftermath of the shooting, the full story of the three runaway teenagers from Elgin, Illinois, came to light. The trio had been traveling when car trouble stranded them in Texarkana. Their attempts to purchase ammunition had been unsuccessful, leading them to the fateful decision to burglarize Howard's Discount Center.
The legal proceedings that followed saw John Lohbauer sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Lieutenant Worrell. His two accomplices each received 20-year sentences and were eventually paroled. Over the years, Lohbauer was denied parole on multiple occasions. In a significant legal development in 2019, the Arkansas Supreme Court ordered a new trial for Lohbauer, citing his juvenile status at the time of the offense. However, before a new trial could take place, John Lohbauer died in prison.
