Raven231
09-30-2001, 16:15
PENROSE, Colo. (AP) - Police found a cache of weapons in the home of twin brothers suspected of killing a sheriff's deputy and critically wounding a police officer.
Joel and Michael Stovall, 24, were captured about 10 p.m. Saturday after a day on the run in which they fired an assault rifle at officers and deputies and taunted paramedics helping the critically wounded officer.
Three other officers suffered minor injuries in the chase and manhunt that followed the Friday night shooting of Fremont County Deputy Jason Schwartz, 26, who was driving the men to jail. They had been arrested after allegedly shooting a dog.
Schwartz was shot several times in the head in his patrol car and died at a hospital. Authorities did not know where the Stovalls, who were handcuffed, got a weapon.
"It's good that they'll be brought to justice because now hey'll have to answer the question, 'Why?'," said Sheriff Ivan Middlemiss. "I'm very relieved."
Middlemiss asked that the brothers be held in nearby El Paso County. One of them was wounded during the manhunt but it was not immediately clear which one, he said.
Investigators found several guns, knives and are testing what Middlemiss described as the makings of a bomb or methamphetamine lab at the Penrose house of their grandmother, where the brothers live.
The brothers stole a pickup truck at gunpoint in Florence, about 5 miles from Penrose, Florence Police Chief Mike Ingle said. The area is about 90 miles southwest of Denver.
One of the brothers, sitting in the back of the pickup, used an assault rifle to fire at two officers who were investigating the deputy's slaying. Police Cpl. Toby Bethel was hit once in the shoulder and twice in the back. He was in critical condition early Sunday at a Denver hospital.
Ingle said they parked about 100 yards away and waved and smiled at paramedics who arrived to help the officers. Another officer was treated for minor injuries suffered when Bethel's car crashed.
They also allegedly fired two shots at Ingle as he headed to the scene.
"They were coming after us," said Ingle, who was cut by shattered glass. "We felt they were targeting us. It didn't seem like they were looking for civilians and trying to hurt them. But they were after the police."
The suspects drove the pickup west out of Florence, and several more shots were fired from the back of the truck, Ingle said. A sheriff's deputy was shot in the arm but was released after treatment.
"It just seemed like it was a big game to them, something they weren't taking very serious," Ingle said.
Early Saturday, the pickup was found abandoned near Howard, more than 30 miles west of Florence, authorities said.
One brother was a Pueblo police academy dropout, though Middlemiss did not know which one. Ingle described the brothers, who grew up in Florence, as loners in high school who liked to wear camouflage clothing.
They did not appear to have a criminal record, Ingle said. The twins' grandmother lived in the basement of her two-story house and the twins had the rest of the house to themselves, said their mother Linda Stovall.
(Copyright 2001 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Joel and Michael Stovall, 24, were captured about 10 p.m. Saturday after a day on the run in which they fired an assault rifle at officers and deputies and taunted paramedics helping the critically wounded officer.
Three other officers suffered minor injuries in the chase and manhunt that followed the Friday night shooting of Fremont County Deputy Jason Schwartz, 26, who was driving the men to jail. They had been arrested after allegedly shooting a dog.
Schwartz was shot several times in the head in his patrol car and died at a hospital. Authorities did not know where the Stovalls, who were handcuffed, got a weapon.
"It's good that they'll be brought to justice because now hey'll have to answer the question, 'Why?'," said Sheriff Ivan Middlemiss. "I'm very relieved."
Middlemiss asked that the brothers be held in nearby El Paso County. One of them was wounded during the manhunt but it was not immediately clear which one, he said.
Investigators found several guns, knives and are testing what Middlemiss described as the makings of a bomb or methamphetamine lab at the Penrose house of their grandmother, where the brothers live.
The brothers stole a pickup truck at gunpoint in Florence, about 5 miles from Penrose, Florence Police Chief Mike Ingle said. The area is about 90 miles southwest of Denver.
One of the brothers, sitting in the back of the pickup, used an assault rifle to fire at two officers who were investigating the deputy's slaying. Police Cpl. Toby Bethel was hit once in the shoulder and twice in the back. He was in critical condition early Sunday at a Denver hospital.
Ingle said they parked about 100 yards away and waved and smiled at paramedics who arrived to help the officers. Another officer was treated for minor injuries suffered when Bethel's car crashed.
They also allegedly fired two shots at Ingle as he headed to the scene.
"They were coming after us," said Ingle, who was cut by shattered glass. "We felt they were targeting us. It didn't seem like they were looking for civilians and trying to hurt them. But they were after the police."
The suspects drove the pickup west out of Florence, and several more shots were fired from the back of the truck, Ingle said. A sheriff's deputy was shot in the arm but was released after treatment.
"It just seemed like it was a big game to them, something they weren't taking very serious," Ingle said.
Early Saturday, the pickup was found abandoned near Howard, more than 30 miles west of Florence, authorities said.
One brother was a Pueblo police academy dropout, though Middlemiss did not know which one. Ingle described the brothers, who grew up in Florence, as loners in high school who liked to wear camouflage clothing.
They did not appear to have a criminal record, Ingle said. The twins' grandmother lived in the basement of her two-story house and the twins had the rest of the house to themselves, said their mother Linda Stovall.
(Copyright 2001 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)