By Adam D. Young
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, Texas
CROSBYTON, Texas — The U.S. District Attorney’s office released new details Monday in the law enforcement operation in which a Lubbock FBI agent was “accidentally shot.”
Mike Orndorff, an FBI special agent assigned to the Lubbock Resident Agency, was part of a group of law enforcement officials from the FBI and Texas DPS who were attempting to arrest a man in connection with a reported extortion plot involving threats against a Crosby County man and his family.
“An incident happened” about 9:30 p.m. Thursday on a dirt county road south of Crosbyton, Texas DPS Sgt. Bryan Witt said late Friday.
“The preliminary information indicates that the FBI agent was accidentally shot by a Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division special agent,” according to a statement from Witt. “DPS Texas Rangers, DPS CID special agents and FBI agents were all on scene as part of the investigation.”
The agencies arrested 46-year-old Shannon Dale Smith of Crosbyton.
Smith appeared Monday afternoon in federal court in Lubbock on a federal criminal complaint stemming from what investigators say was his attempt to extort more than $500,000 from a Crosby County man,
U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy M. Koenig will set a detention hearing at a later date, should one become necessary, according to a statement from the U.S. District Attorney’s Office.
According to the affidavit filed with the complaint, on the morning of Oct. 27, a Crosbyton resident received a telephone message on his answering machine that said in a muffled voice: “We are watching you, there is a note on the north door.”
The resident found a note that stated: “Follow these Instructions and no one will get Hurt. We Have a man watching your daughter. We Have a man watching your Grand daughter. We Have a man watching you and your wife. We are monitoring [sic] your home and cell phone. If you call the police, we will know and someone will be taken from you. If you choose not to participate, someone will be taken from you. You have till Thursday at 9pm to put $525,000 in cash and or gold coins in a bag, duffel style. we [sic] will call you with further instructions. We are watching you. Do what you’re told and no one will be Hurt”.
On Thursday morning, the resident received another threatening phone call in which an unknown male stated they had 14 hours to get the money.
That evening, the unknown male called and left a message advising the resident better answer or, if they didn’t, it would be the last thing they would do, according to the statement.
At about 8 p.m. Thursday, the unknown male caller provided instructions to drop the extortion money.
About an hour later, law enforcement staged a delivery of the extortion money at the location indicated.
Soon after the drop, a vehicle was observed in the vicinity, and two individuals were observed on foot.
Law enforcement immediately confronted the two men — Smith and a juvenile male — and detained them.
At the time of his arrest, Smith had a semi-automatic pistol on his person, according to investigators.
The maximum statutory penalty for the offense as charged is 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.
The FBI, Texas Rangers, and Texas Department of Public Safety, Criminal Investigations Division are investigating.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Haag is in charge of the prosecution.
Orndorff’s condition was unknown Monday. Allison Mahan, a Dallas/Fort Worth-based spokeswoman for the FBI, said the FBI does not release medical conditions for its employees, and a hospital supervisor would not confirm his status.
Copyright 2015 the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal