Suspect arrested, identified after Central Kentucky deputy was shot and killed
The suspect who allegedly shot and killed Scott County sheriff’s deputy Caleb Conley has been identified as Steven Sheangshang, Maj. Matt LeMonds with the Fayette County Detention Center confirmed Tuesday morning.
Sheangshang, 46, has been charged with murder of a police officer, wanton endangerment, evading police, first-degree assault, first-degree robbery, three counts of burglary, two counts of possessing a handgun as a convicted felon and evidence tampering, jail records show. He was being held at the Fayette County Detention Center Tuesday morning.
Sheangshang’s arrest citation says he shot Conley during a traffic stop on I-75. Sheangshang fled the scene and went to a residence in Georgetown, where he allegedly pulled a gun on residents, took a vehicle and went to Lexington.
Sheangshang’s citation also confirms he is accused of shooting someone and stealing their vehicle on Georgetown Road in Lexington. The alleged incident happened after Sheangshang shot Conley and took a vehicle in Georgetown. The citation says he shot the victim in the abdomen and the victim was rushed to University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital for surgery shortly before 6 p.m.
Sheangshang was apprehended in the 800 block of Charles Avenue at 6:41 p.m., his arrest citation says. He was found inside a residence with a handgun and six spent shell casings in a trash can.
On May 18, Bluegrass Crime Stoppers named Sheangshang as the “wanted person of the week.” A media report indicated Sheangshang stole lawn equipment from open garage doors, and would pawn the stolen items for money.
Sheangshang was identified through his vehicle, which was captured by Flock license plate reader cameras in Lexington, Cincinnati and Covington, according to a report. Prior to Monday’s incidents, he was wanted on a second-degree burglary charge.
A spokesperson for Flock Safety, the company that makes Flock license plate reader cameras, said police were able to find Sheangshang because they used Flock cameras to find the license plate from the stolen vehicle. Sheangshang was found near where the vehicle had been abandoned, according to Flock.
Sheangshang had recently been released from a prison sentence. He’d been sentenced to prison in multiple theft cases cases in 2014 and 2016, court records show.
He was released from the Woodford County Detention Center under mandatory re-entry supervision in February this year, according to records from the Department of Corrections. Re-entry supervision is a method in which the state’s parole board can release an inmate six months prior to the end of their sentence if they were denied parole, according to state law.
State records indicate Sheangshang was eligible for parole in January 2022.
This story was originally published May 23, 2023 at 9:36 AM.
