Bio

Johnny Dean Pyles was born on December 30, 1957. He grew up in Dallas County, Texas. As a teenager, he got involved in petty crimes, which put him on a path toward more serious offenses. By the time he reached adulthood, he had accumulated a criminal record that included burglary.

Pyles struggled to find a steady job. He resorted to robberies as a means of supporting himself. He was known to have periods of being on parole after serving time for his crimes. On June 20, 1982, Pyles was under parole supervision after a prior prison term for burglary when he encountered law enforcement, which ultimately changed the course of his life significantly.

Murder Story

On June 20, 1982, Johnny Dean Pyles shot and killed Ray Edward Kovar, a 34-year-old Dallas County Sheriff's Deputy. The incident occurred around 1:00 a.m. when Kovar was responding to a call about suspicious activity at a closed grocery store. Pyles was armed with a .38-caliber revolver, which he had stolen earlier that night. Kovar and other officers arrived at the scene after a motorist reported seeing someone inside the store.

As Kovar approached the store, he confronted Pyles, who began firing. Kovar returned fire but was hit in the chest. He did not survive his injuries. Pyles sustained a gunshot wound to his middle finger and fled the scene. He was captured about three hours later, approximately two miles from the location of the shooting, after officers set up a checkpoint.

Following his arrest, Pyles was interrogated by the police. He initially claimed that he had acted in self-defense, stating he did not know Kovar was a police officer when he shot him. However, during his trial, he was convicted of capital murder on October 14, 1982, after a seven-week jury trial.

Pyles was sentenced to death for the crime. He spent several years on death row before his execution by lethal injection in Texas on June 15, 1998. Pyles's last words expressed sorrow for the pain he caused and shared his faith in Jesus Christ.