Bastrop shooter believed to be in Aryan Circle
http://www.thenewsstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070812/UPDATES01/70812016/1002/NEWS01The suspect killed in the Friday shootout in Bastrop in which two police detectives were killed has been identified as a Texas man with possible ties to a white-supremacist prison gang.
Dennis Clem, 24, had been wanted by the U.S. Marshals Service in connection to a July double homicide in the Houston area, the Associated Press reported, though Louisiana State Police continued to withhold information about Clem’s identity Sunday.
Clem’s girlfriend, Tonya (also spelled Tanya) Smith, 26, was arrested by U.S. Marshals in Harris County, where she is being held without bond as a fugitive pending extradition.
According to the Web site of the popular television show America’s Most Wanted, members of the Aryan Circle helped hide her in a Harris County trailer park.
Smith is scheduled to go before a Texas judge this morning. State police investigators left for Texas on Sunday to interview her.
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Police slayings unite community
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http://www.thenewsstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070812/NEWS01/708120325/1002BASTROP — Bastrop Police Chief Alan Freeman and his family found a bag of sausage biscuits on their doorstep Saturday morning with a simple note signed, "thinking of you."
As details surrounding the shooting deaths of two Bastrop police detectives are being pieced together by officials, the community has joined together to mourn the loss of the two men and to stand behind the Bastrop Police Department.
On Saturday morning, the road in front of the Budget Inn was open to traffic, with cars slowing down to look at the scene, still roped off by yellow and black crime scene tape and guarded by members of the Monroe police Specialized Neighborhood Action Program team.
Two women from Mer Rouge placed the first flowers at the foot of flags flying at half-staff in front of Bastrop City Hall, which is located directly in front of the hotel where the shootings took place in the heart of downtown Bastrop.
The two women said it was the least they could do to honor the memories of Detective Sgt. John R. Smith, 40, and Detective Charles D. "Chuck" Wilson, 34, both of Bastrop.
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3 held in aiding escape
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http://www.thenewsstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070812/NEWS01/708120326/1002Two emergency personnel with Med Life Ambulance were wounded at the scene. David Thomas was transported to Morehouse General Hospital with a gunshot wound to the arm. Jade Tanksley apparently was grazed on the head by a bullet, but she was treated and released.
State police announced Saturday the arrests of Donald A. Brendle, 31, of Mer Rouge: Michael L. Coleman, 38, of Bastrop: and Chrystal L. Harrell, 37, of Collinston.
The trio were booked into the Morehouse Parish Jail on the following charges: two counts of accessory after the fact of first-degree murder, two counts of accessory after the fact of attempted first-degree murder and one count of obstruction of justice.
Investigators learned the three had been in contact with Smith and the unidentified male suspect killed in the shootout prior to the incident. They are suspected of helping Smith flee the area.