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Feb 18, 2009 11:21 pm US/Central
Deputy Critical; Standoff Ends With 2 Arrested
MAHNOMEN, Minn. (WCCO) ―
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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
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The standoff ended peacefully about 4 p.m. when the second of two suspects, 32-year-old Thomas Lee Fairbanks, walked out of a mobile home and surrendered to authorities.
Mahnomen County
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Another person, 27-year-old Daniel Kurt Vernier, had been taken into custody earlier in the day.
Mahnomen County
A Mahnomen County sheriff's deputy was in critical condition Wednesday after being shot several times in an incident that sparked a nine-hour standoff with police and locked down an area in this northwestern Minnesota town.
The standoff ended peacefully about 4 p.m. when the second of two suspects, 32-year-old Thomas Lee Fairbanks, walked out of a mobile home and surrendered to authorities. Another person, 27-year-old Daniel Kurt Vernier, had been taken into custody earlier in the day, said Dave Bjerga, assistant superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Mahnomen County Sheriff's Deputy Christopher Dewey remained in critical, but stable condition at MeritCare Hospital in Fargo, N.D., Wednesday evening. The 26-year-old had two surgeries -- after being shot in the abdomen and the head by Fairbanks, according to authorities.
MeritCare officials said in a statement that the head wound resulted in a severe brain injury, and it was too soon to know a prognosis. Hospital officials said doctors were able to repair a laceration to Dewey's liver.
Sheriff Doug Krier told reporters the incident started around 4 a.m. when authorities got a call about a drunken driver leaving the Shooting Star Casino in Mahnomen. Deputies found the vehicle near the courthouse with no one in it.
About 6:20 a.m., the sheriff said, neighbors reported shots were fired in that general area.
"The deputies responded and checked the area but couldn't find anything," Krier said. He said that about 7:10 a.m., Dewey went to a house to interview a witness about the gunfire.
"At about 7:11 his backup called to find out his status and how he was doing. He did not answer his radio," Krier said.
The backup deputy arrived to find his partner lying on the driveway of the home he was going to check.
"The deputy had been shot multiple times," the sheriff said. "The suspects then ran into a residence across the street."
The standoff outside that doublewide mobile home lasted nine hours. Several law enforcement agencies descended on the scene, including tactical teams from the BCA and surrounding law enforcement agencies. The BCA also sent its Crime Scene Team and some investigators.
The Mahnomen public school, a few blocks from the shooting, was locked down as a precaution, Superintendent Walt Aanenson said. Once the standoff ended, the students were being bused home. About 600 students attend the school.
Dewey grew up in Isanti, Minn. His uncle, David had to break the news to his Dewey's father about the shooting this morning. His aunt, Maureen still can't believe it.
"I couldn't understand how that could happen," Maureen said. "Why would you do that?"
Christopher graduated from Isanti-Cambridge Senior High School. He's been with the sheriff's department for four years and has lived in Mahnomen for the same amount of time.
Dewey was married about a year and a half ago. His aunt and uncle are now waiting by the phone for word from his family, who is now by his hospital bed in Fargo.
"According to what we've been hearing, he was talking," said David. "Keep him in your prayers and stuff cause right now that's what he needs."
Fairbanks and Vernier are being held in the Mahnomen County Jail.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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