Deputy Calvin "C.J." Lehmann
(age: 32) was shot in the face on November 1, 2018. He, and other law enforcement officers, were trying to arrest a known sex offender at the Carter Motel, in La Grange, Texas. This wanted subject was 49-year-old Shazizz Mateen.
The incident actually began at the Dollar Store when officers from La Grange P.D. attempted to serve a warrant on the subject Mateen. Mateen was wanted for failure to register as a sex offender. According to records from the Texas Department of Public Safety the subject Mateen has been a registered sex offender since 2006. Mateen's original sexual offense was in Galveston County, Texas. The subject, who has lived in La Grange for about three years, reportedly renewed his registration with La Grange P.D. in 2016 and 2017, but failed to do so in 2018. Several attempts to serve his warrant at his place of residence had been made since January, but they had been unable to locate him, until now.
Reference the original contact with the subject Mateen at the Dollar Store, one witness indicated that when two officers approached him, he resisted. The witness said Mateen pushed one officer back and that the "cop" drew his Taser and fired it. The witness went on to say that the suspect pulled out a knife and charged at the officers. Mateen fled and was able to make it back to his room at the Carter Motel. That's when he barricaded himself in his room. The Dollar Store and the Carter Motel are within walking distance of each other.
Really!?!?! Mateen resists arrest, they fire a Taser at him, then he pulls a knife and charges at the deputies!?!?! I don't like to second guess what happened, but it really would have been nice if the La Grange P.D. officers would have been able to apprehend Mateen at the Dollar Store.
I'm told that no Fayette County deputies, and that includes Deputy Lehmann, were at the Dollar Store during the initial confrontation with the subject Mateen. However, Deputy Lehmann and other Fayette County deputies were there at the Carter Motel afterwards.
Because he was wearing some body armor (a ballistic vest) Deputy Lehmann volunteered to take the lead in breaching the door to Mateen's motel room. As soon as Deputy Lehmann entered the room the subject Mateen shot him in the face, with a shotgun. Even after he had shot Deputy Lehmann he reportedly fired several more shots. Officers and/or deputies fired back at Mateen and he was hit several times.
Again, even though Mateen was apparently wounded, and he was trapped inside his motel room, he was able to elude capture. A Texas Department of Public Safety SWAT team eventually used a robot with a video camera to enter the room. The video from the robot showed Mateen laying on his bed. Officers/Deputies entered the room and were able to get the shotgun away from the subject and this time he apparently did not resist arrest.
Both the subject Mateen and Deputy Lehmann were taken to the hospital for medical treatment. Mateen's wounds were not believed to be lift threatening. He has now been released from the hospital and he is in jail in a neighboring county. Fayette County S.O. Lt. David Beyer advised me that they thought it best, if just for appearance sake alone, that the subject Mateen not be kept in their jail in Fayette County.
The subject Mateen was initially charged with four (4) counts of Aggravated Assault on a Public Servant with a deadly weapon. Each count carries a penalty of five years to life in prison. According to Lt. Beyer the subject Mateen is currently awaiting trial, and as far as he knows no trial date has yet been set.
At the hospital doctors immediately removed the remnants of Deputy Lehmann's left eye. His right eye was also severely damaged and they worked hard trying to save it. Unfortunately, and despite the best efforts of his doctors, they were unable to save Deputy Lehmann's right eye. He is now blind in both eyes and unless something miraculous happens in the future, it doesn't appear that this will ever change.
Deputy Lehmann, who is a native of Fayette County, is a 32-year-old single father of three daughters. I'm told the daughters are 12, 13 and 14 years old.
From talking with Lt. Beyer, and reading the different media accounts, I learned that Deputy Lehmann seems to be a very optimistic person. He loves his community and he loved his job, too. He indicated that by being in law enforcement he was living a dream. Even now, after this vicious attack against him, he apparently remains positive and optimistic regarding his future.
One of the articles I read said that Deputy Lehmann trusted the sheriff's department to take care of him. He was even quoted as saying, "They said that no matter what I'll have a job here...doing something. I'm not ready to throw in any kind of towel just because I can't see."
Wow! I hope he's right! When I spoke with Lt. Beyer I was impressed by much of what he said about Deputy Lehmann. Especially, when he said, "He's still part of our family here."
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DONATIONS/CONTRIBUTIONS
If you would like to make a donation to assist this brave and dedicated deputy, you can do it several different ways.
A PayPal account has been set up and you can go to the following site:
paypal.me/FCSMBS
You can also mail a donation to the Fayette County Sheriff's Memorial and Benevolent Society. That address is:
Fayette County Sheriff's Office
C/O FCSMBS
1646 N. Jefferson Street
La Grange, Texas 78945
If you do happen to send a check, in the "For" section of the check put "C.J." All funds received for Deputy Lehmann will go directly to him to assist him financially.
If you would like to speak with someone at the Fayette County S.O., about making a donation, etc., you can contact:
Sergeant Angela Lala
(Criminal Investigations Division)
angela.lala@co.fayette.tx.us
979-968-5856
