Stabbing Suspect Caught

LAKE PALESTINE – A suspect in a Cherokee County stabbing has been apprehended. According to the county sheriff’s department, investigators continued their search early Friday morning for Shawn Anthony Reep in the ShadyBrook subdivision near Lake Palestine. At approximately 10:30 a.m. investigators checked a residence that Reep was known to frequent. Reep was not found in the house, but when investigators say when they checked a small travel trailer next to the residence, he was found hiding under a pile of blankets on the bed.

Officials say the 31-year-old Reep offered no resistance when taken into custody. He was transported to Cherokee County Jail on another outstanding arrest warrant for violation of a protective order – a Class A misdemeanor – stemming from an incident that occurred several weeks earlier. Charges are still pending for the offenses committed during the stabbing and another altercation Thursday.

The stabbing occurred at 642 Elizabeth Drive in the ShadyBrook subdivision. Reep is accused of stabbing Joseph Lee Johnson, 31, Bullard, in the stomach. Johnson was flown to East Texas Medical Center in Tyler, where he underwent emergency surgery. At last report he was in stable condition in the hospital’s intensive care unit. Following the stabbing Reep is said to have forced his way into the house where Johnson had been taken following the stabbing. He is said to have threatened the homeowner with the knife. The homeowner grabbed a display sword and hit Reep on the head, causing him to bleed profusely. The extent of his injuries hasn’t been reported.