U.S. marshal killed in Elkins; two wounded
Slain marshal came from law enforcement family; trooper believed to have stopped assailant
An FBI agent and state trooper question a neighbor outside the home of Charles Edward Smith, who was killed by law enforcement after shooting three deputy U.S. marshals attempting to serve a search warrant Wednesday.
ELKINS, W.Va. -- A federal marshal was shot and killed while trying to serve a warrant in Elkins Wednesday morning. Two other marshals were also shot, and the gunman was then killed by law enforcement.
The U.S. Marshals Service identified the marshal who was killed as Derek Hotsinpiller, 24, of Bridgeport. He had been with the marshals for a little more than a year, serving in the Clarksburg office since his graduation from the U.S. Marshals Academy.
According to Hotsinpiller's Facebook page, he was a 2005 graduate of Bridgeport High School and he studied sociology at Fairmont State University.
Hotsinpiller comes from a line of law enforcement officers. His brother, Dustin, works for the Bridgeport Police Department. His late father, Jim, was also a Bridgeport police officer.
The marshals and State Police troopers were at the home of Charles Edward Smith at 319 Central St. in Elkins at about 8:30 a.m. to serve a warrant on him for failing to appear in court on possession of drugs and firearms charges.
After announcing that they were there to serve a warrant, officers breached the door and stepped into the house.
Smith, 50, then opened fire with a shotgun, hitting one marshal in the neck, one in his bulletproof vest and one in the arm or hand, according to sources.
A marshal and trooper then fired at Smith, killing him, according to Sgt. Michael Baylous of the State Police.
Sources familiar with the investigation say that Trooper Gregory Stalnaker, a trooper since 1994, fired the shot that killed Smith and prevented him from firing again.
The marshal shot through the neck was transported to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown. It is not clear if he is the one who died.
A statement from the U.S. Marshal's office confirmed that three marshals were shot and that two were taken to a local hospital for treatment and one was transported by helicopter.
The condition of the other two deputies was not known Wednesday evening, but State Police said their injuries are "nonlife-threatening." Their identities are not being released at this time.
State Police Superintendent Col. T.S. Pack said the "senseless" killing of a U.S. Marshal "weighs heavy upon the heart of the West Virginia State Police family. Our thoughts and prayers remain with his family, friends and co-workers."
No deputy marshal has been killed by gunfire since the Ruby Ridge, Idaho, standoff in 1992.
A quiet place
Neighbors said the Central Street area is normally a quiet place, and they were shocked by the influx of police that descended on the area.
Angela Wilson, assistant principal at nearby Elkins Middle school, walked a couple of students home from the school Wednesday afternoon, through the alley adjacent to the city block that police cordoned off after the shootings.
"I don't normally do this," she said. "I just want to make sure everybody's safe."
One of the students from the middle school, Nick Harris, said school was abuzz with news of the shooting.
"The teachers were all talking about it," he said. "We don't ever make national news."
ELKINS, W.Va. -- A federal marshal was shot and killed while trying to serve a warrant in Elkins Wednesday morning. Two other marshals were also shot, and the gunman was then killed by law enforcement.
The U.S. Marshals Service identified the marshal who was killed as Derek Hotsinpiller, 24, of Bridgeport. He had been with the marshals for a little more than a year, serving in the Clarksburg office since his graduation from the U.S. Marshals Academy.
According to Hotsinpiller's Facebook page, he was a 2005 graduate of Bridgeport High School and he studied sociology at Fairmont State University.
Hotsinpiller comes from a line of law enforcement officers. His brother, Dustin, works for the Bridgeport Police Department. His late father, Jim, was also a Bridgeport police officer.
The marshals and State Police troopers were at the home of Charles Edward Smith at 319 Central St. in Elkins at about 8:30 a.m. to serve a warrant on him for failing to appear in court on possession of drugs and firearms charges.
After announcing that they were there to serve a warrant, officers breached the door and stepped into the house.
Smith, 50, then opened fire with a shotgun, hitting one marshal in the neck, one in his bulletproof vest and one in the arm or hand, according to sources.
A marshal and trooper then fired at Smith, killing him, according to Sgt. Michael Baylous of the State Police.
Sources familiar with the investigation say that Trooper Gregory Stalnaker, a trooper since 1994, fired the shot that killed Smith and prevented him from firing again.
The marshal shot through the neck was transported to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown. It is not clear if he is the one who died.
A statement from the U.S. Marshal's office confirmed that three marshals were shot and that two were taken to a local hospital for treatment and one was transported by helicopter.
The condition of the other two deputies was not known Wednesday evening, but State Police said their injuries are "nonlife-threatening." Their identities are not being released at this time.
State Police Superintendent Col. T.S. Pack said the "senseless" killing of a U.S. Marshal "weighs heavy upon the heart of the West Virginia State Police family. Our thoughts and prayers remain with his family, friends and co-workers."
No deputy marshal has been killed by gunfire since the Ruby Ridge, Idaho, standoff in 1992.
A quiet place
Neighbors said the Central Street area is normally a quiet place, and they were shocked by the influx of police that descended on the area.
Angela Wilson, assistant principal at nearby Elkins Middle school, walked a couple of students home from the school Wednesday afternoon, through the alley adjacent to the city block that police cordoned off after the shootings.
"I don't normally do this," she said. "I just want to make sure everybody's safe."
One of the students from the middle school, Nick Harris, said school was abuzz with news of the shooting.
"The teachers were all talking about it," he said. "We don't ever make national news."
Jackie Sleeman, Harris' grandmother who lives nearby, said she was shocked by the news she heard coming over her police scanner.
"We just never have any shootings here, and this one happened so close to home," she said.
She said she knew someone was badly hurt when the helicopters arrived, and one "was the one that takes people up to Morgantown."
She called her brother, who was a city policeman in Elkins for many years, and asked him what was going on.
"He said, 'I just hope that marshal doesn't die, I just hope he doesn't die."
Investigation leads to fugitive
On Aug. 16, 2006, Senior U.S. District Judge Robert E. Maxwell issued a warrant for Smith from a federal indictment charging him with possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine and being an unlawful drug user in possession of a firearm, according to an affidavit filed in conjunction with an application for a search warrant by Deputy U.S. Marshal John Hare.
The investigation led marshals and State Police Trooper M.P. Denison to the residence on Central Street in Elkins on March 22, 2010. An unidentified person at the residence told officials that Smith did not live there and that he was not related to him. At the time, the residence was not searched.
On the same day, Hare interviewed Smith's wife, Sherry, about the whereabouts of her husband. She said that she had been living at the Central Street home in Elkins for about four years. She said her husband did not live with her at the residence and was currently living in Indiana, according to the affidavit.
Additionally, she told officers that she had not seen him or had contact with him in almost six months.
During the investigation, Hare learned that Sherry and her husband received food stamps from the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources on a monthly basis at the Central Street address and have been getting the benefits since at least April 2010, along with a medical card that Sherry had used to pick up prescriptions for her husband, according to the affidavit.
This month, a confidential source confirmed that Smith was living at the Central Street address, but that "he will not come out of the residence because he knows he is wanted," according to the affidavit.
Hare and other marshals set up surveillance at Central Street and said it was "not possible to see the interior of the residence because the front window was covered with a blanket."
On Tuesday, Sgt. Rich Canfield of the Elkins Police Department said he saw a man matching Smith's description standing outside the rear of the home on Central Street on Feb. 10.
Hare filed the application for a search warrant the same day.
Smith's charges in the original indictment, which stemmed from alleged illegal behavior in May 2005, said that Smith tried to distribute about 3 grams of crack cocaine.
Officials said in the original indictment that Smith was in illegal possession of eight guns, including a .40-caliber Glock pistol, a .38-caliber Charter handgun, a .38-caliber Cobra Enterprises handgun, a .32-caliber Davis Industries handgun, a 9mm Luger High Point pistol, a 9mm Browning Luger pistol, a Czech pistol and a 9mm P85 Ruger pistol.
The weapons, along with $354 in cash, 10 $2 bills, 46 50-cent pieces, nine $1 pieces, five gold $1 pieces, one silver Rolex wristwatch, one set of digital black scales, various crack cocaine pipes and a black knife, were all seized from Smith.
The FBI and State Police are investigating the shooting.
Reach Gary Harki at gha...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5163.
Kathryn Gregory reported from Charleston. Reach her at kathr...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5119.
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