Morgan Deputy dies

MARTINSVILLE -- It long looked like Dan Starnes would make it.\nBut the 46-year-old Morgan County Sheriff's Deputy succumbed Tuesday to complications from a wild shootout at close range in mid-June. An untreatable bacterial infection caused Starnes' condition to deteriorate, and his family decided to take him off life support.\nAfter a 27-day struggle, Starnes died in the intensive care unit at the Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis at 8:14 a.m. Flags hung at half-mast throughout Martinsville Tuesday.\n"His family expected to take him home," said Chief Deputy Volitta Fritsche, a longtime neighbor and colleague who was with Starnes in his final hours. "But they didn't expect to take him home like this."\nStarnes' infection flared up Monday, and doctors said he ceased to respond to medicine.\nMorgan County Deputy Prosecutor Terry Iacoli requested that Starnes' shooter, Tommy Pruitt of Martinsville, be charged with murder. Morgan County Superior Court Judge Jane Spencer approved his request at a hearing late Wednesday afternoon.\nFritsche said the sheriff's department asked the prosecutor to seek the death penalty. Iacoli has been looking into relevant statutes but doesn't plan on reaching an immediate decision.\n"We want to let that family bury him," he said. "We'll talk with all involved parties first, and we don't want to rush to those discussions."\nPruitt's trial is set for Aug. 27, but Iacoli said it should now be pushed back. \nOn suspicion of a suspended license, Starnes pulled Pruitt over June 14 three miles west of Martinsville. Pruitt, who has a lengthy criminal record, later told investigating officers that he didn't want Starnes to find stolen weapons he had in his car. \nPruitt burst out of his car with a .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun he had stolen from the MC Sports in Bloomington. Starnes, whose 19-year-old son Ryan was in the squad car, kept his hand near his still-holstered gun.\nPanicking, Pruitt fired an errant shot at Ryan in the passenger seat, assuming he was another armed officer. The bullet grazed Ryan's right side, injuring him slightly.\nFrom about seven feet away, Pruitt then fired seven shots at Starnes, hitting him five times. Bleeding heavily, Starnes returned fire and hit Pruitt seven times.\nWith both men prostrate, Ryan retrieved a shotgun and trained it on Pruitt until backup arrived.\nAlthough several bullets lodged in Pruitt's side and chest, none of his wounds were life-threatening. He's now being held at the Reception Diagnostic Center near Plainfield.\nIacoli charged Pruitt with two class A felony counts of attempted murder, three counts of receiving stolen property, possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon and possession of a handgun without a license.\nStarnes was flown by helicopter to Methodist Hospital, where he was immediately hooked up to a respirator. Doctors removed a segment of his intestines and bullet fragments from his chest and right hip. They told his family that he could fully recover in about two weeks, barring infection.\nThe sergeant, a five-year veteran of the department and a former jail commander, lost consciousness June 23. He never recovered it.\nStarnes was moved back to the intensive care unit after he was diagnosed with a bacterial infection Monday. He gained nearly 40 pounds when his body stopped processing fluids.\nColleagues remember Starnes as dedicated and hardworking. When Starnes started as a warrant officer, Fritsche said he had 1,100 outstanding warrants to serve -- with nearly 20 more coming in a week.\nStarnes brought the number down to 800 before the shooting, Fritsche said.\n"He rose through the ranks quickly," she said, trying to fight back the tears. "We're all sad, hurt and angry. I can't even imagine how much his family must miss him.\n"He died a hero's death."\nDeputies moped around the office early evening Tuesday, with heads hung and hands stuffed in pockets. Fritsche said they're usually laughing and chatting as the day winds down.\nReserve Deputy Tom Dunigan was the last Morgan County officer to die in the line of duty, when he was fatally shot 25 years ago.