Burglar Who Killed Deputy Is Executed
From Times Wire Reports
A three-time convicted burglar was executed by injection for gunning down a sheriff’s deputy. Johnny Pyles had said he shot deputy Ray Edward Kovar in self-defense. Pyles, 40, was on parole following a second prison term for burglary and was casing a closed grocery store in the early morning hours of June 20, 1982, when Kovar confronted him. Pyles, armed with a pistol stolen earlier in the evening, said he was surprised by the deputy and began shooting.
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