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Trooper shoots, kills knife-wielding fugitive in big rig

GREENVILLE, Texas — A Texas Department of Public Safety trooper shot and killed a knife-wielding passenger in an 18-wheeler during a traffic stop the night of Sunday, May 4, near Greenville, according to authorities.

Investigators said Harold Austin, 30, of Jacksonville, Mich., confronted the lawman with a knife prior to the shooting. Austin is believed to have been a fugitive from justice.

Austin was a passenger in a tractor-trailer that Trooper Bubba Goodwin had stopped along Interstate 30 a short distance east of Greenville, officials said.

Austin confronted Goodwin while the trooper was speaking to big rig’s driver, who was identified as Clifton Austin, 27, of Fayetteville, N.C., said DPS Cpl. Robert White.

The trooper opened fire as the man approached him with a knife, White said.

"My initial reaction is that he (Goodwin) was forced to draw his weapon," Thomas said.

Harold Austin was wanted on warrants in both Washtenaw and Jackson counties for absconding on probation and drug possession.

Ann Arbor Police recently announced a $200 reward for information leading to his arrest

and conviction related to the beating and stabbing of an Ann Arbor man in March.

Ann Arbor Detective Chris Fitzpatrick said Austin was suspected of attacking a 38-year-old man during a drug-related robbery March 18 at the Extended Stay America along Briarwood Circle.

The victim in that incident suffered stab wounds to the abdomen and severe facial abrasions.

Hunt County District Attorney F. Duncan Thomas said the case would be presented to a grand jury, but he wouldn’t speculate on any possible charges.

Goodwin was placed on administrative leave while Texas Rangers investigate the incident. No charges were filed against Clifton Austin.


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