On Thursday morning, two Oklahoma teens from Bethel Acres dressed in camouflage clothing, loaded up a cache of weapons and drugs, stole a pickup truck and fled to the small Texas town of Maypearl. They attempted to invade a home, exchanged gunfire with the property owner and apparently killed themselves. According to a March 21 article in the Independent Mail, Kenneth Chaffin, 17, triggered a national law enforcement alert on Monday when he stole his parents' Red Ford Ranger pickup truck, some prescription medication, 17 guns and 2,000 rounds of ammunition.
Dillon King, 18, was with Chaffin as the two drove about 240 miles to Maypearl, where they approached a house from the rear. They were spotted by a woman who saw them through the back door and alerted her husband. The husband yelled at the two and got his gun. The teens ran into a field while shooting at the house. The husband returned fire, believing he may have hit one of the assailants. His wife called 911. Authorities found one teen dead on the ground and the other in the pickup truck. They quickly established their identities.
When the teens left Bethel acres, Chaffin's parents reported him missing with nine handguns, six rifles and two shotguns. From the time they initiated a law enforcement alert to the deadly conclusion in Maypearl, authorities thought that Chaffin was alone. King was never reported missing even though the teens lived about a mile apart from each other.
Pottawatomie County Undersheriff J.T. Palmer Palmer said, "We didn't actually know there was a second one until we got the call from Ellis County, Texas, that two suspects were killed." Palmer said he had no idea why the two would engage in a deadly, drug-fueled crime spree or why they would drive 240 miles to attack a particular home.
Chaffin's father said his son never had trouble with the law and had no known family problems. He admitted that his son was “no saint”, but said, "Kenneth was a follower, not a leader. That's what we figure. He followed someone and got in over his head,"
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