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Bystanders' calls credited with saving woman's life

Roger Dale Hogue
Greenville Herald-Banner

Calls from concerned citizens and a rapid response by area law enforcement may have resulted in a woman’s life being saved Wednesday night.

Roger Dale Hogue, 48, was taken into custody and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon/family violence, for allegedly pointing a loaded handgun at the woman’s head during the incident. At the time of the arrest, Hogue was on parole for a 1998 murder in Lone Oak.

The events began in downtown Lone Oak at around 8 p.m. Wednesday when the Lone Oak Police Department was alerted by a bystander that a male passenger in a minivan parked outside of the city hall had pointed a gun at the head of the female driver during a heated conversation. The minivan then drove north out of the parking lot.

Police Chief Jessie Smallwood said he was notified of the incident by Gun Activists and Cop Watchers Kory Watkins and Kenny Lovett. Smallwood then relayed the information to the Hunt County Sheriff’s Office to be on the lookout for the vehicle.

Lonnie Jordan, the former athletic director at Lone Oak High School who currently serves as the athletic director at Highland Park High School, happened to be driving through the area and had pulled off of U.S. Highway 69 onto County Road 3401.

“As I turned a corner there was this blue minivan just stopped in the road,” Jordan said.

The road is essentially a one-lane dirt road, Jordan said, making passing impossible, even after the minivan started to move.

“They never got above 10 miles per hour, so I was stuck behind them,” Jordan said.

As he followed, Jordan said he noticed the driver and passenger were still involved in an argument, resulting in the man pointing something at the woman.

“Sure enough, it looked to me like it was a handgun,” Jordan said.

Jordan called Officer Mike Parker with the Hunt County Fire Marshal/Environmental Enforcement Office, whom he knew from his days at Lone Oak High School.

“He knew that I lived fairly close,” Parker said.

As Parker was responding, Jordan kept following the minivan in his vehicle, relaying the location to Parker.

“At this point, I didn’t want them to get out of sight,” he said.

Parker catches up and pulls the minivan over in the vicinity of FM 1571 and County Road 3405, near the entrance to the Villages of Lone Oak. He noticed the woman driver was extremely upset, but was able to remove her from the vehicle as Smallwood and Hunt County Sheriff’s Deputy Brown also arrived.

Brown discovered a .380 ACP caliber pistol in the glove compartment next to the passenger seat.

“He told us that’s where he put it,” Parker said.

It was at this point that Hogue was identified.

“His exact words were, ‘I just got out of prison for murder,’” Parker said.

Hogue was convicted of murder in June 1999 for the July 1998 shooting death of Bobby James Rogers at Hogue’s former Lone Oak residence. Hogue was sentenced to 20 years in prison on the conviction.

Smallwood said Brown also found 17 rounds of ammunition in Hogue’s left pants pocket, noting additional charges were being prepared against Hogue as of Thursday evening.

Parker said the female had become acquainted with Hogue by communicating with him in prison.

“She said she’d been held against her will,” Parker said. “She was hysterical.”

Parker believes Jordan’s swift thinking helped avoid a tragic outcome.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that he saved that woman’s life,” Parker said. “He was greatly concerned about a stranger that he didn’t even know.”

Jordan downplayed his role in the incident.

“I didn’t do much,” he said. “I called Mike and he handled it.”

Jordan also credited the response of the Lone Oak Police Department and the Hunt County Sheriff’s Office and the bystanders who made the initial call to law enforcement.

“Kudos to those guys,” he said. “They all did great.”

NOTE: The photograph originally included with this story, provided by the Hunt County Sheriff's Office, was not Roger Dale Hogue. The correct booking photo is now posted.