A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for a suspect who reportedly made it inside the Lincoln County jail with a gun and attemped to shoot a Lincoln County Sheriff’s jailer, who was patting him down.
The suspect had been arrested by a Wellson police officer for driving while under the influence of intoxicating alcohol.
JerryLouisLorenz,50,of Jones, who was transported to the Lincoln County jail after he reportedly was involved in single-vehicle collision, is facing three felonies and two misdemeanor charges.
Formal charges were filed on Sep. 9, 2024 in Lincoln County District Court against Lorenz. He made his initial appearance before Associate District Judge Sheila Kirk.
She had previously set his bond at $92,000.
Special Judge Emily Mueller recently continued that hearing until 9 a.m. Feb. 27.
She has now scheduled his preliminary hearing for 1:30 p.m. on May 1, 2025.
Sergeant Aaron Bennett, at the time the Public Information Officer with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, said that Lorenz was brought to the Lincoln County Jail on suspicion of DUI at 7:29 p.m. on Sep. 4 by a Wellston Police Officer.
Bennett noted that while Lorenz was being booked in, he was being searched. “Anytime a suspect is brought to the jail, typically they have already been searched. We always take all of their contents, everything from them, and hold onto their property until they are released,” he explained.
“Our jailer, Jonathan McDade, started searching him and Lorenz retrieved a .22 magnum North American mini-revolver from his right front pocket and pointeditatMcDade’shead and neck area and pulled the trigger multiple times,” Bennett said.
“When presented with danger, your fight or flight instincts kick in and Mc-Dade was in it from the first second. He was fighting like his life depended on it which it did,” Bennett emphasized.
He said the pistol was eventually taken from Lo- renz and he was booked into jail. “At no time was the general public in any kind of danger nor were any of the other inmates,” Bennett stressed.
Bennett further explained, “The Lincoln County Jail does have a policy to prevent these kinds of incidents from happening.”
The charges Lorenz faces include assault with a dangerous weapon or in the alternative attempt to kill, bringing contraband (weapons) into a jail/penal institution. Those are all felonies.
He also is charged with attempted escape from arrest or detention and driving while under the influence of alcohol, both misdemeanors.
He is charged in Count 1 of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon accusing him on Sep. 4 this year of assaulting McDade with a .22 caliber pistol with intent do harm him.
The alternative, any other attempt to kill, charges him with attempting to kill Mc-Dade by pulling the hammer on his firearm while pointed at the victim with the intent to cause him death.