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Two deputies shot, one dies; arrest made

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published November 13, 2006

TAMARAC - One man was in custody Sunday and police were searching for two others involved in the fatal shooting of a Broward County sheriff's deputy during a routine traffic stop, authorities said.

Eloyn Ingraham, 28, fatally shot Deputy Brian Tephford just after 11 p.m. Saturday, Broward County Sheriff Ken Jenne said.

"Brian's killer is in custody," Jenne said, his voice breaking, in a live televised news conference.

"This was a heartless, cold-blooded assassination," Jenne said.

It was not immediately clear whether Ingraham had been charged.

Tephford, 34, a six-year veteran of the Sheriff's Office, was shot at the Versailles Gardens Condominium in suburban Fort Lauderdale, the Sheriff's Office said.

Authorities said the shootings came during a stop of two cars.

Tephford called for backup shortly before the shootings and Deputy Corey Carbocci was dispatched to the scene.

The gunplay erupted so suddenly, authorities said, that neither deputy had time to draw his weapon.

"It would appear that they were taken totally by surprise by this shooting," Jenne told television station WTVJ.

Tephford was shot twice and was pronounced dead at a local hospital at 12:01 a.m., authorities said. He was not wearing a protective vest.

Carbocci, 37, who was wearing a protective vest, was shot four times. He was listed in stable but guarded condition Sunday at Broward General Medical Center, according to the sheriff's office.

Tephford is survived by young twins and a 4-year-old daughter, authorities said.

"I heard there was a reward offered but I'd turn them in for nothing," said Linda Dion, a resident at the complex where the deputies were shot. "If someone would shoot a cop then they would do anything."

Veda Coleman-Wright, a spokeswoman for the Sheriff's Office, told the Associated Press on Sunday that it was unclear what prompted the initial traffic stop. She would not disclose any other details of the incident.

[Last modified November 13, 2006, 00:09:47]