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Feb 20, 2009 11:25 pm US/Central
2 Charged In Shooting Of Deputy In NW Minn.
MAHNOMEN, Minn. (AP) ―
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Thomas Lee Fairbanks, 32, was charged with first-degree attempted murder and other counts in the shooting of Deputy Christopher Dewey. Daniel Kurt Venier, 27, was charged with lesser counts.
CBS
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Mahnomen County Sheriff's Deputy Christopher Dewey remains in critical, but stable condition at MeritCare Hospital in Fargo, N.D. The 26-year-old had two surgeries -- after being shot in the abdomen and the head.
CBS
Two Twin Cities-area men were charged Friday in connection with a shooting that left a Mahnomen County sheriff's deputy critically wounded.
Thomas Lee Fairbanks, 32, was charged with first-degree attempted murder and 20 other felony counts in the shooting of Deputy Christopher Dewey, 26. His bail was set at $1 million.
Daniel Kurt Vernier, 27, was charged with 16 felonies, but not attempted murder. His bail was set at $500,000. Vernier allegedly told police that he was not the one to shoot Dewey.
Dewey was shot in the head and the abdomen Wednesday morning while checking a report of shots fired in a neighborhood in Mahnomen. A backup deputy found Dewey lying in the driveway.
Dewey's partner, Deputy Chad Peterson, was placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation, Sheriff Doug Krier said. Peterson shot once at the two suspects and injured Fairbanks, although the bullet didn't pierce his body. Fairbanks could be seen moving slowly at his first court appearance Friday.
The sheriff said it's standard procedure to place a deputy who's been involved in a shooting on leave.
Dewey's shooting led to a nine-hour standoff at a mobile home that ended when the suspects surrendered peacefully.
MeritCare Hospital in Fargo, N.D., where Dewey was being treated, said Friday that he was no longer in a medically induced coma or being sedated. He began breathing on his own Friday afternoon. He was in stable condition in the hospital's critical care unit.
Dewey's family members posted on the CaringBridge Web site Friday morning that he had been responsive and at one point flashed a thumb's-up.
About 50 uniformed law enforcement officers and a dozen of Dewey's family members attended the hearing Friday morning.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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