Deputy Ray Edward Kovar, 34, of the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department, was killed in the line of duty on June 20, 1982, while responding with a partner to a prowler call at a business in New Hope, Texas. The officers split to search the premises; Deputy Kovar went toward the rear and encountered a suspect crouched behind an air conditioning unit. After ordering the man to stand, Kovar was shot once in the chest with a .38 caliber handgun. He returned fire and wounded the shooter in the hand but later succumbed to his injuries.

The suspect, 24-year-old Johnny Plyles, fled but was arrested, convicted of capital murder and later executed by lethal injection on June 15, 1998. Deputy Kovar was survived by his wife, Kay Lynn Kovak, and his siblings. The incident was noted for its deadly outcome and the legal consequences that followed.