Assistant Chief Joseph Joey Christopher Cannon was killed while on duty during a traffic stop on U.S. Highway 64 in the early morning of June 19, 2009. A 50-year-old with 27 years in law enforcement and nine years at the Plumerville Police Department, he was about two weeks from retirement when he initiated a stop on a pickup reported stolen. After confirming the vehicle’s status and calling for Conway County backup, he was shot once in the chest with a .22 caliber handgun as he approached the truck and later died at Conway Regional Medical Center.

Law enforcement took a passenger from the truck into custody at the scene; the driver fled but was captured shortly afterward in Faulkner County and identified as 25-year-old Shane Lonix. In November 2010 Lonix pleaded guilty to capital murder and received life without parole under a plea that avoided the death penalty. Cannon is survived by a son who serves as a Conway County deputy, a daughter who is a Perry County dispatcher, five grandchildren, two brothers, and four sisters.

Did anyone who knew Assistant Chief Cannon or saw activity on U.S. Highway 64 that morning come forward with information?