Dying deputy shot cabin burglar twice

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Cop killer Joseph Burgess died from two bullets to the head fired by the dying officer he had just shot, autopsy results released Thursday reveal.

The Office of the Medical Investigator released the autopsy report Thursday indicating Burgess was shot twice in the left side of his head.

Burgess fatally wounded Sandoval County sheriff's Sgt. Joe Harris in a gunfight at a cabin in the Jemez Mountains late last month. Harris was hit first but was able to return fire.

He later died from his wound.

Several days later it was discovered that Burgess, a burglar who had been plaguing mountain residents for a decade, was a fugitive wanted in Canada for killing two people in 1972.  Harris and another officer had staked out the cabin hoping to capture the burglar locals had dubbed the Cookie Bandit.

New Mexico State Police have been investigating the shooting which occurred during a nighttime stakeout at the cabin near La Cueva beyond the reach of cell-phone service and police dispatch radios. KRQE News 13 has learned state investigators hope to submit their final report on the incident to District Attorney Lemuel Martinez by next week.