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| Deputy Sheriff in Missouri Dies of Injuries After Shootout |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 01/02/2003 |
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Authorities charged a man Tuesday with three counts of first-degree murder, accusing him of killing two people in an apparent drug dispute and a deputy sheriff looking to question him. Earl Forrest II, 53, was also charged with assaulting an officer, drug possession and other counts. According to a document from the local prosecutor's office, police found a large amount of methamphetamine inside Forrest's home in this town 130 miles southwest of St. Louis. Highway Patrol Sgt. Gene DeSalme said Harriet Smith, 51, and Michael Wells, 41, were slain Monday at a home west of town. He said the shooting of Smith appeared to be drug related, but refused to provide details. Wells was apparently in the wrong place at the wrong time. ''Michael Wells, we think, was just returning a videotape'' he had borrowed from Smith, DeSalme said. Dent County Deputy Sheriff Sharon Joann Barnes, 48, and Sheriff Bob Wofford were shot as they arrived at Forrest's home to question him about the slayings, the highway patrol said. Barnes died at a St. Louis hospital. The sheriff was treated and released. Authorities returned fire, hitting Forrest and a friend. Both were expected to recover. Barnes had been with the department since 1993. Before that, she was a school bus driver and firefighter in Salem. ''She really enjoyed law enforcement,'' prosecutor James P. Gray said. ''I think she would have done it for free. She could go out and talk to people. She'd develop a rapport and she could get people to surrender.'' |
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