Collection of Articles about Police Officers Killed by Semi- Automatic ...

Prosecutors weren't happy with the plea deal, but accepted it because a recent U.S.
Supreme Court ruling made it unlikely that Lee Roy Wood would be eligible for capital
punishment.
Wood also entered guilty pleas on 2 counts of attempted homicide for shooting at the
other police officers that night.
Prosecutors originally planned to pursue the death penalty against Wood, a convicted
felon and reputed drug dealer.
But in June the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that executing the mentally retarded is cruel
and unusual punishment.
Wood's attorneys quickly filed court papers saying they had evidence to prove their
client was mentally retarded.
The Supreme Court ruling leaves it up to states to set the standards for who is retarded
and who isn't.
Utah lawmakers are expected to take up a measure during the current legislative
session that would amend the state's death penalty law to keep the mentally retarded
from execution.
Wood's attorneys, Edward Brass and Walter Bugden, were not immediately available for
comment.
(source: Casper Star Tribune)
http://www.utahhardfact.com/psn/psnsuccessstories051303.cfm
On July 6, 2001, Roosevelt City lost a beloved public servant and the State of Utah lost
its then longest standing police chief. Chief Cecil Gurr was violently gunned down in the
parking lot of a local convenience store by a convicted felon armed with an SKS assault
rifle.
State and local authorities apprehended the shooter not long after he fled the scene.
Although the state responded quickly and was working hard to build its case against the
shooter, it became apparent in their investigation that there was another who also bore
responsibility for the Chief's death. All indicators were that a separate individual had
given the SKS assault rifle to the shooter with instructions to use the gun to make good
on a drug deal gone bad. Chief Gurr was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The local prosecutor's office was overwhelmed with it's homicide investigation of the
shooter and the small police force was working overtime to put together a solid case.
The question became: "What about the individual who provided the gun?"
Deputy Keith Campbell of the Uintah County Sheriff's office, a PSN partner, began to
enlist the resources of many to build a federal gun case against the individual that
provided the SKS assault rifle used to kill Chief Gurr. Deputy Campbell and other
members of PSN began a coordinated response which would include the efforts of
multiple state, local, and federal law enforcement agencies to build an airtight case
against the provider of the firearm. Local FBI agents were used to track down and
interview dozens of witnesses in other cities and states. ATF agents preserved and
analyzed critical firearm and ammunition evidence. Local police officers-trained on