By Donald Bradley and Greg Clark
The Kansas City Star
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — A suspect in several area jewelry store thefts died Tuesday after a shootout with police at a busy Independence shopping area.
The man, who was not identified, was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died. He suffered multiple gunshot wounds.
No police officers were injured.
Independence police spokesman Tom Gentry said Tuesday evening that the shooting remained under investigation.
At least one Independence officer was placed on leave, a mandatory policy whenever there is a shooting.
“I only know personally of one officer that will be on paid administrative leave,” Gentry said. “There may be another one. I just don’t know. Of course, there were Highway Patrol officers there as well.”
Missouri Highway Patrol spokesmen could not be reached Tuesday evening to say whether any troopers had fired weapons.
Gentry said the dead man, in his mid-30s, was a suspect in thefts from a Drenon’s Jewelry store in Independence and stores in other cities.
The shooting occurred about noon in the Eastland Center at U.S. 40 and Valley View Parkway, in front of a Plantasia store.
Plantasia store owner Frank Jenkins said his daughter was waiting on a customer when they heard shots.
“All of a sudden, there was gunfire and glass breaking,” Jenkins said. His daughter and the customer went to a back room.
At least three bullets ended up in the store.
“I’m just glad the guy didn’t make it inside,” Jenkins said.
Shortly after the shooting, Sgt. Dan Green of the Missouri Highway Patrol said that Blue Springs detectives had been following a man suspected in a jewelry store theft in that city.
The man turned off westbound Interstate 70, and the detectives called Independence police and the Highway Patrol for help in finding him.
“We all scattered out to look for the suspect,” Gentry said. “We were pretty sure he was on foot.”
During a canvass of the Eastland area, the man’s car, a late-model maroon Chevrolet, was found abandoned at a Subway sandwich shop.
Gentry said that a few minutes later, an Independence officer found the suspect behind a pillar in front of Plantasia and ordered him to drop his weapon.
It was not clear who fired the first shot, Gentry said.
He said, however, that one thing was clear: “The suspect had a .45 pointed at the officers, and it was cocked and loaded.”
At least four shell casings were found.
Copyright 2007 The Kansas City Star