Post by Woody Williams on Nov 12, 2010 16:01:33 GMT -5
Pa. game warden investigating poaching is killed
By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press The Associated Press
Friday, November 12, 2010 2:22 PM EST
GETTYSBURG, Pa. (AP) — Police say they are charging a man with murder in the killing of a Pennsylvania game warden who was shot while investigating possible nighttime hunting and poaching.
State police say 27-year-old Christopher Lynn Johnson and Wildlife Conservation Officer David Grove exchanged gunfire in Freedom Township, near Gettysburg, around 10:30 p.m.
Thursday. They say Johnson had an apparent gunshot wound when police apprehended him at a hunting camp Friday morning, about 11 hours after Grove's shooting.
Authorities say Grove had stopped Johnson and a passenger in a pickup truck and ordered them out of the vehicle.
Johnson was in the custody of police at a nearby hospital pending arraignment. Adams County District Attorney Shawn Wagner vowed to seek the death penalty.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
GETTYSBURG, Pa. (AP) — A game warden investigating possible nighttime hunting and poaching was shot to death, and police took a man with a history of burglary convictions into custody following an 11-hour search.
David Grove, a 31-year-old Pennsylvania Game Commission wildlife conservation officer, was killed Thursday night in Freedom Township, southwest of Gettysburg.
Christopher Lynn Johnson was detained Friday morning in nearby Franklin Township, state police said. Authorities planned an afternoon news conference to discuss the case, but police said they were not searching for anyone else related to the investigation. Police earlier had said the 27-year-old should be considered armed and dangerous.
Grove, of Fairfield, had been investigating reports of nighttime shooting and poaching at the time he was killed, game commission spokesman Jerry Feaser said.
"This was a malicious act," Feaser told The Associated Press. The last time a game commission officer was killed in the line of duty was 1915, he said.
Commission executive director Carl Roe called Grove "a bright, young officer" dedicated to promoting Pennsylvania's hunting heritage.
"Our prayers and thoughts go out to WCO Grove's family and friends, as we mourn the loss of one of our own," he said.
Adams County Coroner Pat Felix said an autopsy was under way to determine the cause and manner of death, but she said it appeared Grove had been shot to death.
Online court records list a Christopher Lynn Johnson with a history of burglary convictions and a 2005 guilty plea to a charge of fleeing an officer and endangering the welfare of children.
Grove graduated from Penn State University in 2004 with a bachelor's degree in wildlife and fisheries science, according to the game commission.
The last game commission officer to be shot and killed in the line of duty was Joseph McHugh in Weatherly, Carbon County, on Nov. 7, 1915.
By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press The Associated Press
Friday, November 12, 2010 2:22 PM EST
GETTYSBURG, Pa. (AP) — Police say they are charging a man with murder in the killing of a Pennsylvania game warden who was shot while investigating possible nighttime hunting and poaching.
State police say 27-year-old Christopher Lynn Johnson and Wildlife Conservation Officer David Grove exchanged gunfire in Freedom Township, near Gettysburg, around 10:30 p.m.
Thursday. They say Johnson had an apparent gunshot wound when police apprehended him at a hunting camp Friday morning, about 11 hours after Grove's shooting.
Authorities say Grove had stopped Johnson and a passenger in a pickup truck and ordered them out of the vehicle.
Johnson was in the custody of police at a nearby hospital pending arraignment. Adams County District Attorney Shawn Wagner vowed to seek the death penalty.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
GETTYSBURG, Pa. (AP) — A game warden investigating possible nighttime hunting and poaching was shot to death, and police took a man with a history of burglary convictions into custody following an 11-hour search.
David Grove, a 31-year-old Pennsylvania Game Commission wildlife conservation officer, was killed Thursday night in Freedom Township, southwest of Gettysburg.
Christopher Lynn Johnson was detained Friday morning in nearby Franklin Township, state police said. Authorities planned an afternoon news conference to discuss the case, but police said they were not searching for anyone else related to the investigation. Police earlier had said the 27-year-old should be considered armed and dangerous.
Grove, of Fairfield, had been investigating reports of nighttime shooting and poaching at the time he was killed, game commission spokesman Jerry Feaser said.
"This was a malicious act," Feaser told The Associated Press. The last time a game commission officer was killed in the line of duty was 1915, he said.
Commission executive director Carl Roe called Grove "a bright, young officer" dedicated to promoting Pennsylvania's hunting heritage.
"Our prayers and thoughts go out to WCO Grove's family and friends, as we mourn the loss of one of our own," he said.
Adams County Coroner Pat Felix said an autopsy was under way to determine the cause and manner of death, but she said it appeared Grove had been shot to death.
Online court records list a Christopher Lynn Johnson with a history of burglary convictions and a 2005 guilty plea to a charge of fleeing an officer and endangering the welfare of children.
Grove graduated from Penn State University in 2004 with a bachelor's degree in wildlife and fisheries science, according to the game commission.
The last game commission officer to be shot and killed in the line of duty was Joseph McHugh in Weatherly, Carbon County, on Nov. 7, 1915.
