On June 14, 2001, Sergeant and Warrant Officer Daniel Robert Starnes, 46, of the Morgan County Sheriff’s Department stopped a vehicle near Shelton and Wilbur Roads around 12:15 p.m. The driver, wanted on a warrant, produced a .45-caliber handgun and opened fire. Starnes, not wearing a bullet-resistant vest, was struck four times in the chest during the exchange; he returned fire and wounded the suspect seven times. Starnes’ youngest son, Ryan, was in the patrol car on a college law enforcement ride-along and was also hit.

Despite his wounds, Ryan retrieved a service shotgun from the cruiser and held the assailant at gunpoint until backup arrived. Both were taken to hospitals; Sergeant Starnes died on July 10, 2001, from complications of an infection related to his gunshot wounds. The suspect, 39-year-old Tommy R. Pruitt, survived, was convicted by a jury in October 2003, and later had his death sentence overturned as he was found intellectually disabled; resentencing left him with a term ensuring he will remain in prison.

Did anyone in the area witness the stop or the moments just before it?