A parolee who may be involved in the slaying of Colorado’s prison chief and a deadly Denver-area shooting led Texas authorities on a high-speed chase Thursday before a shootout that left him brain dead, officials said.

The Denver Post reported Thursday evening that the man is 28-year-old Evan Spencer Ebel, a member of a white supremacist prison gang. A federal law enforcement official confirmed that identity to the Associated Press. The official was not authorized to speak publicly about the case and spoke on condition of anonymity, the Associated Press reported.

Court records show Ebel was convicted of several crimes in Colorado dating to 2003, including assaulting a prison guard in 2008.

El Paso County, Denver and Golden investigators headed to Texas to see if Ebel is linked to the killing of Tom Clements, the executive director of the Colorado Department of Corrections, or the recent slaying of a Domino’s pizza delivery man in Denver.

“There is a strong connection with the Texas case,” Denver police said via Twitter.

Ebel was spotted Thursday morning in Montague County, Texas, driving a black Cadillac, which matches the description of a vehicle seen leaving the Monument-area home of Clements around the time he was shot Tuesday night.

A Montague County sheriff’s deputy, James Boyd, tried to stop Ebel, who opened fire, hitting Boyd multiple times, including a grazing wound to the head, authorities said. Boyd, who was wearing a bullet-proof vest that saved his life, was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries, authorities said.

Authorities wouldn’t say why Boyd tried to Ebel over, but called the traffice stop routine.

After the shooting, a pursuit ensued with speeds reaching 100 mph.

The chase came to an end at the intersection of U.S. Highway 380 and Business 380 in Decatur when the Cadillac was struck broadside by a semi truck, authorities said.

The driver got out of the car and shot at Wise County deputies as they approached. Officials returned fire, wounding Ebel.

“He didn’t plan on being taken alive,” Decatur Police Chief Rex Hoskins said during an afternoon news conference in Texas. “He was trying to hurt somebody.”

Wise County Sheriff David Walker said the driver was “legally deceased” but remained on life support for potential organ harvesting.

“I know there’s a lot of rumors going around and people wanting to know if this is connected to the Colorado shooting of the director of their prison system,” he said Thursday afternoon. “We don’t know that it is or it’s not. Colorado is sending — and should be here this evening — investigators that are working on that case and other homicide cases in the Colorado area. That’s basically where we stand right now.”

Authorities had been searching for a car seen Tuesday night about 200 yards from Clements’ home on Colonial Park Drive about 15 minutes before the shooting. The car was running but unoccupied. It was described as a black or dark-colored, two-door car, similar to a 90’s model Lincoln. The car involved in the Texas chase was a four-door.

Texas authorities contacted the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office after the chase and shooting, sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Jeff Kramer said.

“We are communicating right now with Texas authorities as well as coordinating with the FBI to gather information from down there,” Kramer said, noting that there is no confirmation that the suspect is linked to Clements’ death.

Kramer said in a news release late Thursday that sheriff’s investigators were headed to Texas.

He said investigators were likely to inspect evidence that would need crime lab analysis before they’re able to determine whether the suspect is linked to Clements’ shooting.

“These efforts take time,” Kramer said.

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The Associated Press and Gazette reporter Matt Steiner contributed to this report.

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Contact Daniel Chacón: 476-1623

Twitter @danieljchacon

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