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The Mohave County Sheriff's Department announced an armed man was killed by Bullhead City police officers after he fled from authorities by stealing both a mail truck and boat.
The agency said deputies responded to the area of Pearl Street and Chaparral Road in Fort Mohave on April 3 around 1:42 p.m. after reports of a stolen mail truck. The mail truck's driver was away from the vehicle when the passenger of a different vehicle pulled up and entered the mail truck before fleeing with it followed by the driver in the other vehicle, the Sheriff's Office said.
The department said officers with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department found the vehicle suspected to have been involved in the theft sitting unoccupied in a casino parking lot in Laughlin, Nevada at around 2:49 p.m. with evidence of the theft inside the vehicle.
Officers reviewed surveillance footage and later located one of the suspects walking along the Colorado River behind the casino. The department said that, as an officer approached him, the man pointed a handgun at the officer prompting the officer to take cover.
Authorities said the man proceeded to steal a boat and flee to the Arizona side of the river before heading into an apartment complex in Bullhead City near Highway 95 and Palo Verde Boulevard.
Bullhead City police officers found the man, later identified as 48-year-old Erick Tom Watkins, in the complex's parking lot at around 3:41 p.m. when Watkins began firing at the officer, authorities said. Police said the officer immediately fired back at Watkins while a second responding officer began shooting at him as well.
Officials said Watkins was struck by gunfire and was pronounced dead at the scene. A records check found he had multiple active felony warrants.
Authorities later found the stolen mail truck abandoned roughly four miles from where it had been stolen around 3:45 p.m. with some mail and personal items missing.
Officials encouraged anyone with possible information about the second suspect, who was still missing as of April 6, to contact the Sheriff's Office at 928-753-0753. The second suspect was not involved in the shooting, just the theft of the truck, officials confirmed.
Sheriff's Office detectives were assigned to investigate the police shooting along with detectives from the Kingman Police Department. It is standard protocol to have an outside agency investigate a police shooting, the Sheriff's Office said.
The officers involved were placed on paid administrative leave during the investigation, according to the Sheriff's Office.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Man stole a mail truck and boat before being killed, officials say
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