Millard deputy killed by man who sold drugs to her brother, police say

DELTA — A Millard County sheriff's deputy was shot and killed early Tuesday by a man who had sold drugs to the deputy's brother just minutes before, investigators say.

Deputy Josie Greathouse Fox was shot, apparently without warning, during a traffic stop about 1 a.m. She was the second female officer in Utah history to be killed in the line of duty.

The shooting sparked a massive manhunt over several counties for at least two people wanted in connection with the slaying.

Roberto Miramontes Roman, 37, was charged just 10 hours after the shooting with aggravated murder, a capital felony, and tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Before the shooting, Fox and Sgt. Rhett Kimball spotted two suspicious vehicles about one mile east of Delta, where there had been a recent string of home burglaries and trailer thefts, said Millard County Sheriff Robert A. Dekker.

One of the vehicles belonged to Ryan Greathouse, Fox's brother, according to charges filed in 4th District Court.

As both cars drove away in different directions, Kimball told Fox to stop the other vehicle as it headed toward Delta on U.S. 50 while he followed Greathouse's vehicle, Dekker said. Fox stopped the Cadillac DeVille about 1 a.m. and called in the license plate number to dispatchers. The vehicle was registered to Ruben Chavez Reyes, the charges state.

Kimball then drove to Fox's location.

"He found deputy Fox lying in the road. The suspect vehicle was gone," Dekker said.

Fox, 37, still had her flashlight in her hand. Her gun was still in its holster. A single bullet had entered above her protective vest, just above her badge, he said.

She was pronounced dead at the scene.

"She was a great deputy," said the sheriff, who described Fox as a "Delta gal" and a "real peach."

"She's done us a good job. She had the ability to talk to the youth in our community."

Fox leaves behind a husband and two children. She had been with the Millard County Sheriff's Office for more than five years. Her husband, an oil field worker, was out of town in Vernal when he was informed about the shooting.

"We're a small agency. We've lost a loved one and a close friend," Dekker said, adding that Fox was "nonjudgmental and liked by everybody."

Dekker said he believes his deputy was killed instantly.

"I think the shooting happened as soon as the stop was made, as soon as she made the approach," he said.

Detectives went to Ryan Greathouse's house in Leamington and he told them he had just purchased drugs from a man he later identified as Roman who was driving a gray Cadillac, the charges state.

"He's pretty upset," Fox's mother, Cindy Greathouse, told the Associated Press. "We have a lot of good friends and neighbors who have been here today and lots of support."