Suspect in Lufkin Carjacking Found Dead

LUFKIN — The Lufkin Police Department is investigating an apparent attempted car-jacking incident that ended with the death of the suspect and a victim being treated at an area hospital for gunshot wounds. It started around 1:15 Sunday morning when police received a report of a disturbance at Applebee’s restaurant in Lufkin. The caller told dispatchers that her ex-boyfriend, Jackie Doyle Clay Jr., 34, threatened her and discharged a firearm into the air. The caller stated that she fled the area by vehicle and did not know his location. While officers were responding to the area, dispatchers received a call requesting emergency medical assistance for a gunshot-wound victim at a Whataburger restaurant.

The responding officers soon learned that the Applebee’s and Whataburger incidents were connected. Officers believe that Clay walked from Applebee’s to the intersection of South First Street and South Medford Drive in Lufkin where he attempted to carjack a vehicle. The victim resisted and was reportedly shot in the shoulder, chest, and face. He was transported to a hospital for treatment. His condition is unknown.

Lufkin Police, along with the Angelina County Sheriff’s Department, Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, Department of Public Safety and a TxDPS helicopter searched a wooded area. Around 4:15, authorities found Clay in that wooded area, dead from a single, apparently self-inflicted, gunshot wound to his head.