Sep 05, 2008 - 04:05:38 CDT
HAWTHORNE, Nev. (AP) - A man shot and killed by a Mineral County sheriff's deputy might have been a federal fugitive from North Dakota who failed to report to prison after being convicted of stealing and transporting weapons.Drew Wrigley, the U.S. attorney for North Dakota, said Kelly Stenstrum, 31, of Grand Forks, died in Hawthorne "as a result of contact with law enforcement." He declined to provide details Thursday.
Authorities in Nevada said a Mineral County sheriff's deputy on Tuesday shot to death an armed robbery suspect in Hawthorne. They did not immediately identify the man, who they said was shot and killed after failing to obey orders to surrender and put down his weapon.
Lt. David Jones with the Nevada Department of Public Safety's Investigation Division said Thursday that authorities were awaiting a fingerprint comparison before saying whether Stenstrum was the man shot and killed in Hawthorne.
However, "We believe very highly" that the man is Stenstrum, he said.
Jones said the man who was shot allegedly committed several home burglaries in Mesquite, Nev., and was under investigation by numerous law enforcement agencies. Officials said he fled into Hawthorne when he was stopped in a stolen car by a Highway Patrol trooper on U.S. Highway 95.
Daniel Burns, spokesman for the state public safety agency, said two Mineral County deputies were involved in the shooting, and several shots were fired. The deputies' names were not immediately released. No officers were injured.
Burns said the suspect had a weapon in his hand but did not fire it. Jones said the weapon was a handgun.
The incident led to a brief lockdown of a nearby senior center.
Jones said the man who was shot also is a suspect in stolen vehicle and burglary incidents in Colorado.
Stenstrum was sentenced in July to nearly three years behind bars, three years of supervised release and restitution totaling nearly $22,700 after pleading guilty in April to three felony charges in the Grand Forks gun case.
Authorities said he stole 33 guns in North Dakota from the Grand Forks Home of Economy store and seven guns from a private gun dealer last year, selling some of them in Wisconsin.
Authorities said Stenstrum broke into the Grand Forks store by going in through the roof and descending a rope ladder. He was caught on video inside the store.
The U.S. Marshals Service said Stenstrum in August failed to report to a New Jersey prison where he was to serve his sentence, and had been considered armed and dangerous.
Wrigley said it is up to a judge to determine whether a convicted felon should be allowed to report to prison on his or her own. "It's not out of the ordinary," he said.
Dave wrote on Sep 5, 2008 10:40 PM:
Yeah, I agree! "
Jacki wrote on Sep 5, 2008 9:24 AM:
Gun totin fool wrote on Sep 5, 2008 8:07 AM:
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