By Sara Semelka
The Columbia Daily Tribune
COLUMBIA, Mo. — A Boone County man wanted on a parole violation shot himself dead early yesterday evening after leading officers on a high-speed chase south of Centralia on Route Z.
The Boone County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the incident that led to the death of Danny William Schmitz, 45. It began with a controlled drug transaction set up by the Centralia Police Department.
“We knew he was coming to town to sell crack cocaine to a cooperating individual,” Centralia Police Chief Larry Dudgeon said.
Sheriff’s Detective Tom O’Sullivan said Schmitz was seen taking part in a car-to-car drug transaction behind a building on Highway 22 in Centralia about 5:40 p.m. yesterday. When police began to pursue Schmitz, he took off in his maroon Honda onto the highway.
Boone County sheriff’s deputies heard about the incident over the scanner and joined the chase, O’Sullivan said.
Centralia police “attempted to stop the vehicle after the transaction, but he fled from them,” O’Sullivan said. “He shot down an alley, went east on Switzler Street, crossed over Allen and turned south on Jefferson Avenue, which is Route Z.”
Schmitz drove out of town on Route Z at more than 100 miles per hour before losing control of the car and crashing into the front yard of a home, O’Sullivan said.
Dudgeon said the crash occurred about four miles south of the city around the 1600 block of Route Z, about one-tenth of a mile south of the intersection of Route FF and Route Z.
Police said Schmitz then got out of his car and started to run.
“He takes off running behind the houses, and the officer lost sight of him,” O’Sullivan said. “Other officers are arriving, searching and telling residents of the area, `Go in your homes, lock your doors.’ ”
The Missouri State Highway Patrol arrived with a canine unit and began to search grassy areas nearby. The dog indicated a person was in the area, O’Sullivan said.
“Officers announced their presence, and the next thing they heard was a gunshot,” he said.
O’Sullivan said officers retreated for a short time, and when the canine unit indicated there was no threat, they went forward and found Schmitz unconscious with a gunshot wound to the head, apparently self-inflicted. He was pronounced dead a short time later.
“We did recover a pistol, a 9 mm Ruger,” O’Sullivan said. “That is what inflicted the wound.”
O’Sullivan estimated the incident, from the start of the chase to the time Schmitz’s body was found, lasted about 30 minutes.
Law enforcement officers described Schmitz as transient, and court and arrest records indicate he has had several run-ins with the law.
Police have contacted Schmitz’s ex-wife, which court records and Tribune archives show to be Gail Jean Schmitz.
The two were divorced in 2000, according to Tribune archives, and O’Sullivan said Schmitz’s sister might be in the area.
Dudgeon and O’Sullivan said Schmitz was well-known to law enforcement in Mid-Missouri. They have yet to pin down an exact address for him but have found evidence he had addresses and trouble with law enforcement in Boonville, Fulton, Auxvasse and Columbia.
“It seems to be one of the greater mysteries,” Dudgeon said of Schmitz’s home.
Court records show Schmitz has pleaded guilty to passing bad checks, forgery, tampering with a vehicle and driving while intoxicated.
Copyright 2008 The Columbia Daily Tribune