The Levelland Police Department took time out to remember Sgt. Joshua Bartlett who was killed in the line of duty during a SWAT standoff in Levelland five years ago on July 15, 2021.
Sgt. Bartlett, of the Lubbock County Regional SWAT team, and three other law enforcement members were shot during an hourslong standoff. Bartlett was transported to Covenant Medical Center in Levelland, where he succumbed to his wounds.
Levelland Police Sgt. Shawn Wilson was also shot in the head during the encounter and rushed to the hospital. He recovered from his wounds and now is an instructor at South Plains College Law Enforcement Police Academy.
The incident began on the morning of July 15, when the subject, Omar Soto-Chavira was stopped by a Texas Highway Patrol trooper for reckless driving and attempted to bait the officer into a confrontation. Soto-Chavira is reported to have gone home after the encounter, where he began walking around the neighborhood with a firearm at about 1:15 p.m. When officers with the Levelland Police Department arrived, the man opened fire and barricaded himself inside. The regional SWAT team was requested as the man randomly fired shots from the home. The subject was taken into custody at about 11:30 pm.
Soto-Chavira faces both federal and state charges including a federal criminal complaint of forcibly assaulting a federal officer engaged in the performance of official duties, and a state charge of capital murder and attempted capital murder. In 2024, a judge approved a change of venue to Lubbock County. His trial is still pending and tentatively set to begin in October.
If convicted in the federal case, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison. He also faces a potential death sentence if convicted on state charges.
The Levelland Police Department, Lubbock County Sheriff ’s Office SWAT and Lubbock Police Department SWAT conducted the investigation with the assistance of Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives’ Dallas Field Division, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Dallas Field Division, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Texas Rangers and the Hockley County District Attorney's Office.
Sgt. Bartlett was a U. S. Army veteran and served with the Lubbock County Sheriff's Office for over eight years. He is survived by his wife, four sons, parents and a brother.