WICHITA, KS (KCTV) -
A Sedgwick County Sheriff's deputy who was shot after a car chase is in fair condition after undergoing eye surgery.
Sheriff Jeff Easter says the 33-year-old deputy was shot in the right eye by shotgun pellets Monday night after a chase that ended near Potwin in Butler County.
Jason Perez, 35, and Clara Crosser, 27, are both being held for the chase and shooting. Records show both are from Gardner, KS.
Investigators won't say which Gardner resident fired, but say both were armed.
Easter says the five-year veteran deputy tried to stop the car for traffic violations and it sped off, reaching 120 mph. Eventually, the deputy found the car abandoned and was shot as he searched for the suspects.
Several agencies responded to help with the search. A Kansas Highway Patrol trooper eventually shot Perez and arrested Crosser.
A trooper shot Perez in the chest near a hedgerow in the rural Butler County area where the chase ended.
Perez is in a Wichita hospital in serious condition. Crosser is in the nearby Butler County Jail.
A neighbor who once knew one of the suspects says he never saw any behavior that was criminal, but based on what he did see, the news was hardly shocking.
"It doesn't surprise me at all that he's involved in something thing like this," said Bill Gainey, who knew his upstairs neighbor as a nuisance, not a criminal.
But a recent run-in near Wichita has brought attention to Perez for more than just being un-neighborly.
A search of Johnson County court records shows mostly misdemeanor charges and convictions involving marijuana and alcohol. But Perez was on probation for a 2011 assault that was pleaded down to criminal threat.
Early this year, a charge for DUI and interlock violations meant a judge wanted to revoke his probation. Then he missed court to revoke his bond. His last court appearance in Johnson County was Friday.
Neighbors say Perez was evicted several months ago for not paying his rent and didn't know where he had been living since then.
Investigators haven't released the name of the deputy who was shot.
Copyright 2013 KCTV (Meredith Corp.) All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
