For further information please contact: Sergeant Brent J. Bernhardt
(660) 385-2132
B07121
December 1, 2007

EMPHASIS: Pursuit And Officer Involved Shooting In Marion County


On Saturday, December 1, 2007, at approximately 6:25 p.m., the Missouri State Highway Patrol was notified that a Palmyra, Missouri, Police Department vehicle had been rammed by a 2004 Ford F-350 pickup, on U.S. Highway 61, in Palmyra, as an officer attempted to stop it to investigate a careless driving complaint. The pickup continued southbound on U.S. 61, south of Palmyra, Missouri, and crossed the median and struck a Marion County Sheriff’s Department vehicle that was northbound on U.S. 61, head-on and then continued southbound. On U.S. 61, near the Mount Zion Church, north of Hannibal, Missouri, the pickup again crossed the median and struck a Missouri State Highway Patrol vehicle that was northbound on U.S. 61, in the driver’s side. After the impact, the patrol vehicle was then struck in the rear by a tractor-trailer unit. The pickup then traveled eastbound on Rt. KK, where the driver unsuccessfully attempted to car-jack a vehicle occupied by a female and a small child. It was determined after these incidents that the Ford pickup had been stolen from a hospital in Iowa City, Iowa.
At approximately 7:15 p.m., it was discovered that the suspect had stolen a Silver Pontiac Sunfire from a residence located near Marion County Road #402. Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers and Marion County Sheriff’s Deputies located the stolen Pontiac, which was traveling southbound on Mo. Highway 168 and attempted to stop the vehicle. After the vehicle failed to stop for officers, a tire-deflation device was deployed by the Hannibal Police Department. The vehicle continued southbound on Mo. 168 and then crashed approximately one and one-half miles north of U.S. 61, in Hannibal, Missouri. Members of the Missouri State Highway Patrol and Marion County Sheriff’s Department attempted to take the suspect into custody. Due to the suspect’s actions, the officers feared for their safety and discharged their service weapons at the suspect striking him in the torso area. Emergency personnel were immediately summoned to the scene and the 27-year-old suspect, of Homewood, Illinois, was taken to the Hannibal Regional Hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries.
One Missouri State Highway Patrol Trooper was taken to the Hannibal Regional Hospital to be treated for injuries he sustained when his patrol vehicle was struck by the fleeing pickup truck.
The suspect was previously in the University of Iowa hospital in Iowa City, Iowa. The suspect escaped the custody of the Johnson County, Iowa, Sheriff deputy that was guarding him on criminal charges. The investigation is on going by the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control and the name of the suspect is being withheld until the next of kin has been notified.
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