The Associated Press
PLATTE CITY, Mo. (AP) - A south-central Missouri man should face the death penalty for killing three people, including a Dent County deputy, a jury recommended Tuesday.
Earl M. Forrest II, 54, of Salem, was charged with first-degree murder in the December 2002 killings of Chief Deputy JoAnn Barnes, Harriett Smith and Michael Wells.
Forrest was found guilty Friday. The jury deliberated for about three hours Tuesday before recommending the death penalty in all three killings, Attorney General Jay Nixon said. Formal sentencing will be Dec. 17, said Nixon spokesman Scott Holste.
“The murder of Deputy Barnes reminds us of what a dangerous profession law enforcement can be,” said Nixon. “The sentences of death for this meth dealer who killed her and two other people were appropriate, given the cold-blooded nature of the crimes.”
The case was heard in Platte City, near Kansas City, on a change of venue.
Authorities said Forrest’s midday crime spree began when he fatally shot Smith, 51, of Salem, and Wells, 41, of Licking, at Smith’s home.
Smith was killed in a drug dispute, and Wells apparently was visiting to return a borrowed videotape to Smith, authorities said.
Barnes, 48, a nine-year veteran of the sheriff’s department, and Sheriff Bob Wofford went to Forrest’s home to investigate the earlier shootings. Authorities said Forrest began shooting as the officers approached the door. He surrendered after a 35-minute standoff.
Barnes died the next day at a St. Louis hospital. Wofford was shot, but not seriously hurt.
Forrest and his girlfriend, Angelia Gamblin, 26, were also injured in the shootout.
Authorities said a large amount of methamphetamine that Forrest had taken from Smith was found inside his house.