ALASKA (Continued)
39-year-old alleged killer has a lengthy history of felony charges and was on probation at the time of his arrest. He has been charged with First-Degree Murder.
ARIZONA
On March 7 at approximately 1:45 p.m., a 33-year-old correctional officer with the Arizona Department of Corrections in Phoenix was found stabbed in the control room of the prison complex where he was performing security duties. Two fellow correctional officers discovered the 5-year veteran officer with a knife protruding from the left side of his neck and had him transported to the local hospital where he was pronounced dead. Three male inmates, aged 29, 33, and 36, have been charged with First-Degree Murder, Conspiracy to Commit First-Degree Murder, and Promoting Prison Contraband. A fourth male inmate, aged 36, has been charged with Conspiracy to Commit Dangerous or Deadly Assault by a Prisoner.
ARKANSAS
At approximately 5:30 a.m. on March 14, a patrol officer with the Higginson Police Department was slain in an ambush incident. The 39-year-old officer was sitting in his marked patrol vehicle at a four-way stop when a man allegedly approached from the blind backside of the vehicle, stepped up to the right passenger side, and fired three rounds from a .357-caliber revolver through the glass, striking the victim officer in the front upper torso. A local shop owner who heard the gunfire went to the patrol vehicle and found the body. The victim officer had 1 year of law enforcement service. A 26-year-old male, who was known to the victim officer through prior law enforcement contact, was arrested and charged with Capital Murder.
A 45-year-old sergeant with the Osceola Police Department was struck down on March 16 at approximately 12:30 p.m. while attempting to serve a warrant for armed robbery. The victim, a veteran of nearly 9 years’ law enforcement service, was one of three officers who were acting on information that the suspect might be hiding in the home of a female friend. Upon arriving at the residence, the officers questioned the woman at her front door about the suspect. She allegedly denied that he was there but gave permission for the officers to conduct a search of the house. Inside, the officers separated, and the sergeant entered a bedroom and discovered a male, armed and hiding in a closet. He ordered the man to drop his gun, but the man allegedly opened fire, shooting the sergeant five times in the upper torso and arms with a .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun. A second officer rushing in to assist was struck in the chest, and though the force of the gunshot knocked him backward out of the bedroom, his protective body armor saved him from serious injury. At that point, the suspect allegedly shouted that he was coming out. The officers ordered him to exit the house and then placed the man under arrest. The victim sergeant was found inside the closet where the alleged killer had been hiding. He was transported to an area hospital where he died. The 31-year-old suspect, who has a history of multiple felony arrests and was on parole at the time of the incident, has been charged with Capital Murder, Aggravated Robbery, Felony Possession of a Firearm, and various other charges.
On April 23 at approximately 8 p.m., a 44-year-old deputy with the Poinsett County Sheriff’s Department was fatally wounded when he responded to a call complaining of an armed person in a vehicle. The deputy, who had 4 years’ law enforcement experience, located the suspect vehicle near the city of Marked Tree and approached the driver. For42
