The First United Bank of Littlefield was robbed March 18, 2002. The incident occured about 12:30 PM, when a man entered the bank, drew a gun, and demanded money from a clerk.

Lamb County farmer Brad Bussey pulled up to the drive up window when a teller pointed to the man hurrying across the parking lot. She told him to get the man's license number, so he followed the man around the bank's fence to an adjoining parking lot. When Bussey went to confront the man, he was threatened with a gun. "There I was, looking down the barrel. I went back to my ride!" Bussey said excitedly.

Bussey called 911 on his cellular phone as he put his seatbelt on for the chase. "He was at a loss on the dirt roads," Bussey said, "I know every road and bump in this area." He told the 911 dispatcher every time they changed directions. He could hear the officers over the phone as they narrowed in on his location. Bussey noticed an officer joining the pursuit in his rearview mirror and pulled off the road to let the officer do his job.

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The man Bussey had been chasing turned out to be Jimmy Joe Urioste, 44, of Clovis, NM.
Littlefield Police Chief Gary Lightfoot and Lt. Bill McMinn followed Urioste for a couple of miles. Two of the tires on the truck that Urioste was driving blew out, forcing him to stop in a field along County Road 272. He fired a .22 caliber revolver at the pursuing officers as he fled on foot. The officers shot and killed Urioste as he neared a residence. Nobody was sure which officer fired the fatal shot.

Lamb County sheriff's deputy Dewayne Haney rolled his patrol car on his way to assist the other officers. He rounded a corner and hit a soft shoulder, sending his vehicle into the ditch. He was transported to University Medical Center where he was treated and released.

Lightfoot suffered chest pains during the incident, and was transported to Covenant Medical Center in Lubbock. He was held overnight for testing and was released the next day with a clean bill of health.