By Christine Byers
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
ST. LOUIS — The suspected gunman in a surprise attack that wounded a city police sergeant this week was in custody Thursday, along with three men believed to have been with him.
Police arrested Dale Wolford, 24, on Thursday morning. He is accused of shooting the sergeant, 39, who was off-duty but in full police uniform, working a security job near Maryland and Euclid avenues in the Central West End. A bullet-resistant vest stopped a slug from penetrating the officer’s torso.
Wolford was charged with assault on a law enforcement officer, two counts of armed criminal action and discharging a firearm at a vehicle.
He was apprehended in the 2200 block of Yale Avenue in Maplewood and taken to St. Louis police headquarters for booking. He had a bloody scrape along the side of his face, which police said occurred when he resisted arrest. A police source said that during the arrest Wolford had reached for an officer’s gun and was subdued with a Taser.
Wolford lives in the 4300 block of St. Ferdinand Avenue in St. Louis. He was arrested at his girlfriend’s home.
There still was no indication of a motive in what officials saw as an unprovoked attack before dawn Tuesday. The sergeant was in his personal vehicle when a Ford Fusion pulled up and its front-seat passenger got out and started shooting, Police Chief Sam Dotson said.
Police arrested Edward Davis, 27, on Wednesday, alleging that he drove the Fusion. Prosecutors charged Davis with assault on a law enforcement officer and armed criminal action. He lives in the 1700 block of Chiquita Terrace in the Spanish Lake area of north St. Louis County.
Bail for each was set at $200,000.
Two other men in custody were believed to have been riding in the back seat, but by late Thursday they had not been charged in the attack.
One of them, Aaron Collins, 23, of the 5300 block of Janet Avenue, is charged in an unrelated case with robbery, two counts of armed criminal action and assault. He surrendered Thursday afternoon at headquarters.
His attorney, Charles Ferguson II, said, “It’s always best to turn yourself in. Right now there are a lot of angry police and a lot of angry people out there.” Noting that pictures showed a bloodied Wolford, relatives took photos of Collins to document that he arrived uninjured. Officers assured his mother that he would be safe.
Leslie Harris said her son graduated from Jennings High School and was never in trouble. She tearfully embraced him, saying, “I love you son,” as police put handcuffs on him. She noted, “He’s never been arrested. He’s never even had a driving ticket.” Her son was silent as he walked inside.
“My client will be vindicated in a court of law once all of the facts and evidence come out,” Ferguson said.
Collins’ bail also was set at $200,000.
The fourth suspect, 18, already turned himself in and was booked but not charged. His lawyer, Jermaine Wooten, said his client claims the officer fired first, targeting the car that pulled up and blocked in his.
“The police officer got out, fired two shots at them, and one of the gentlemen got out of the car and fired shots at police,” Wooten said.
Dotson disputed that Thursday. “I’m not going to get into a back-and-forth,” he said. “My first statement stands. The officer never got out of his vehicle and was shot while he was seated.”
Police have said the shooting was recorded on surveillance video. The recording has not been publicly released.
Wolford had pleaded guilty in St. Louis County Circuit Court on March 19, 2012, to second-degree burglary and stealing more than $500, and is on probation. In that case, he admitted kicking open a victim’s door and taking a TV and other possessions. He and an alleged accomplice were arrested later by Ferguson police.
St. Louis police arrested Wolford in May 2014 on suspicion of marijuana possession, and a warrant had been issued for his arrest. Prosecutors subsequently sought to revoke Wolford’s probation, according to court documents.
Dotson said the sergeant had seen three men walking nearby before they and a fourth man returned in the Fusion. But the officer had no contact with them before the shooting started, the chief said.
The sergeant shot back and, in his car, chased the gunman but lost sight of him near a parking garage on York Avenue.
The sergeant was treated at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and released.
A police source said the gun used in the ambush has not been found, although a gun was recovered from the Fusion.
There was no additional information Thursday about a man who sought treatment at Barnes-Jewish for gunshot wounds just hours after Tuesday’s attack. He told police he had been shot at Selber Court and Goodfellow Boulevard, which is near where the abandoned Fusion was found.
Police have said he was not part of the attack on the officer but remained part of the investigation.
Copyright 2015 the St. Louis Post-Dispatch