Kentucky Deputy and K-9 Killed

[PapaBear]

Kentucky Sheriff's Deputy Killed in High-Speed Chase
A police dog inside the cruiser was also killed.

Updated: January 10th, 2008 09:48 AM EDT

The Associated Press

PINEVILLE, Ky. --

Two teenagers were charged with murder Thursday after they led police on a high-speed chase in southeastern Kentucky and hit a parked sheriff's cruiser, killing the deputy and K-9 dog inside, authorities said.

The driver drove away from an Exxon gas station in Baxter without paying at 12:35 a.m., authorities said. Police followed the car at least 10 miles west on U.S. 119 into a neighboring county.

State police said two state troopers attempted to stop the speeding driver.

The teen's car veered over the center line and rammed into a cruiser parked on the shoulder waiting to join the pursuit, killing Ball County Sheriff's Deputy Sean Pursifull, 31, and his K-9 dog King, state police said.

The 17-year-old driver, from Delaware, and a 16-year-old passenger from Pennsylvania were slightly injured.

Both were released from a hospital and jailed in the Adair County Juvenile Detention Center on charges of murder and assault on a service animal.
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[Illiy]

Little bastards!

Prayers to the family and department

[Jenna]

Rest in peace.

[Willowdared]

RIP


What the hell were a teenager from Delaware, and another from Pennsylvania doing in Kentucky? Running away?

[iso607]

Rest in peace brother.
Thoughts and prayers enroute to family and dept.

[Buttercup]

RIP

[Pudge]

Rest easy

[mack]

So sad, such a waste of lives, the teens who have ruined their lives and the lives of so many others. Rest in peace Deputy Pursifull, your brothers and sisters will take it from here. Prayers to his family.

[Five-0]

Over a damn gas drive off!!!! Corporal and Capital punishment needs to be expanded and expanded now. Schools are going to hell and so is society. Stories like this piss me off to no end

[CW Mock]

Over a damn gas drive off!!!! Corporal and Capital punishment needs to be expanded and expanded now. Schools are going to hell and so is society. Stories like this piss me off to no end

+1

RIP brothers.

[Big Al]

Over a damn gas drive off!!!! Corporal and Capital punishment needs to be expanded and expanded now. Schools are going to hell and so is society. Stories like this piss me off to no end

x2

[Just KC]

Damn! How does one get gas before paying anyways?
RIP x 2

[Bama512]

Over a damn gas drive off!!!! Corporal and Capital punishment needs to be expanded and expanded now. Schools are going to hell and so is society. Stories like this piss me off to no end

x3 !!!

[Slicktop78]

RIP
What the hell were a teenager from Delaware, and another from Pennsylvania doing in Kentucky? Running away?

Very good question, I'd like to know myself. Bell Co. is one of the more rural mountainous counties in Ky, not many good roads in and out. Those kids were up to more than just stealing gas.

[Probation13-901]

RIP

[k-9max]

Rest Easy both of you,
We will take it from here!

[10-42Adam]

This has been a big story in my state since one of the kids is from Delaware. Not good at all.

May the Officer and his K-9 partner both rest in peace...

[semperfi508]

rest in peace brother, my God have mercy on the teenagers souls because we wont.

[Cross240]

Some of my guys that live in claiborne county, knew the officer. Said he was a fine officer, and very good at finding narcotics. I think a few of us are going to the funeral.

RIP Brother.

[Slicktop78]

http://www.kentucky.com/454/story/283989.html

BOTH TEENS IN FATA CRASH HAD CRIMINAL RECORDS
WERE PULLED OVER BY DELAWARE STATE TROOPER JUST DAYS AGO

By Bill Estep
BESTEP@HERALD-LEADER.COM


Just after midnight Saturday, when a Delaware state police officer stopped David J. Poppiti and Eric J. Gerren to check why they were on the street so late and whether they had drugs or guns, Poppiti threw down a bag of marijuana and ran, police said.

The teens turned up four days later in Kentucky, allegedly running again, speeding down hilly, winding U.S. 119 as police tried to stop them for stealing $37.95 worth of gas from a Harlan County convenience store.

This time, the chase ended in death. With Gerren riding along, Poppiti allegedly veered off the road and rammed the police cruiser of Bell County sheriff's Deputy Sean Pursifull, killing Pursifull and his dog King, a German shepherd trained to search for drugs.

One question is whether Poppiti, 17, and Gerren, 16, left home because of the incident early Sunday. Another was why they ended up in Kentucky.

Trooper Walt Meachum, a spokesman for the Kentucky State Police, said the boys didn't know anyone in Harlan County.

"They were just on the run," Meachum said.

Bell County Attorney Neil Ward said police found a gun in the teens' car after the crash.

That piece of evidence will come into play as Ward attempts to have the teens' case transferred so they can be tried as adults in circuit court, where they would face stiffer penalties. A hearing on that issue is scheduled Jan. 31.

At a hearing Friday, not-guilty pleas were entered for the teens, and a judge ordered them detained pending further court action.

A court-appointed attorney representing the teens did not return a phone call Friday afternoon.

Both teens have criminal records in Delaware. Unlike in Kentucky, juvenile-court records in Delaware are publicly available, and officials provided information on Poppiti, of New Castle, Del., and Gerren, of Lincoln University, Pa. Gerren had earlier lived in Delaware.

Gerren had two charges in Delaware: offensive touching in 2005 and underage drinking last September, which landed him on probation for a year. The offensive-touching charge relates to acts such as shoving and poking, a court official said.

Poppiti's record is far more extensive. He has been charged with trespassing; attempting to engage in misdemeanor conduct; resisting arrest; attempted robbery; conspiracy; and several times with offensive touching, records show.

In May, Poppiti was charged with second-degree assault for allegedly slugging another teenager in the cheek without warning, fracturing a bone. The victim told police Poppiti allegedly hit him in retaliation for an incident a year earlier when Poppiti was drinking alcohol at the boy's house and he made Poppiti leave, according to a court record.

Poppiti pleaded guilty to an amended charge. He was given a curfew and ordered to attend anger management classes and undergo a psychological evaluation.

That attack apparently happened in the same area of Wilmington, Del., where a state police officer stopped Poppiti, Gerren, and an unnamed 18-year-old boy shortly after midnight Saturday as they were walking.

After the officer asked what they were doing in the area so late and whether they had drugs or weapons, Poppiti allegedly threw down a bag of marijuana and ran, according to a news release from the Delaware State Police. Gerren and the other teen stayed.

Police got warrants for Poppiti charging him with possession of marijuana and resisting arrest, state police said.

Gerren was not charged, but his father had to come to the state-police post to pick him up.

Two days later, Gerren was reported missing with his family's car, a 2002 Mazda.

Gerren and Poppiti turned up in Kentucky two days after that. About 12:30 a.m. Thursday, police said, they filled up at the Exxon Friendly Mart on U.S. 119 at Baxter, then drove off without paying.

A store employee called police, and two state police officers spotted the Mazda heading south toward Bell County on 119. When police tried to stop the car, the driver fled and police chased him.

Poppiti was driving, hitting speeds of more than 100 miles per hour at times and running several vehicles off the road, authorities said. State police called ahead to Bell County for assistance, and Pursifull responded.

Pursifull, who kept King with him, parked beside U.S. 119 outside Pineville, on the opposite side of the road, and waited to join the chase. Farther toward Pineville, a state police officer waited to throw out a strip of spikes to flatten the tires on the fleeing car if necessary.

But as Poppiti approached Pursifull, he veered across the road and broadsided the deputy's car, killing him and his dog. It didn't appear Poppiti tried to brake before hitting the deputy, state police said.

When police approached the teens' car after the crash, one of them yelled, "We have a gun and you better shoot us," Ward said.

Police arrested the teens without incident. They had received minor injuries and were treated before being jailed at a juvenile-detention facility in Adair County.

The gun police found wasn't loaded and appeared to have been altered, maybe as if the pieces came from different guns, Ward said.

However, it could be a factor in whether the teens are tried as adults. Juveniles can be certified as adults if certain conditions apply, including whether they have a felony conviction in juvenile court and whether they had a gun in connection with a crime, Ward said.

"We feel like we'll be able to transfer these young men" to be tried as adults, Ward said Friday.

Poppiti is charged with murder of a police officer, assault on a service animal, speeding, fleeing and evading police, theft and having no license. Gerren has been charged with murder of a police officer and assault on a service animal.

A brother told The News Journal newspaper in Wilmington, Del., that Poppiti's father died when he was 13 and their mother is terminally ill. Two older brothers tried to keep an eye on Poppiti, but he was "his own kid."

Poppiti had dropped out of school and had done odd jobs and worked for a construction company, his brother said.

Matthew Poppiti said he didn't think his brother meant to kill Pursifull. "I think he was just acting on instinct trying to get out of a bad situation," Matthew Poppiti said.

But as it turned out, his brother told the newspaper, David Poppiti has "blood on his hands."

Visitation Saturday; funeral Sunday

Visitation for Anthony Sean Pursifull, 31, will be Saturday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Arnett & Steele Funeral Home in Pineville. The funeral will be Sunday at 2 p.m. in the gymnasium at Bell County High School.

Pursifull is survived by his wife, Melonie Deana Horn Pursifull; daughters Victoria Alexis and Franki Seantae; mother Bernice Mills; and other relatives.

The Bell County Sheriff's Office has set up a memorial fund for Pursifull's family. Donations can be mailed to Anthony Sean Pursifull Memorial Fund, First State Financial, P.O. Box 37, Pineville, Ky. 40977, or dropped off at any First State Financial location.