An armed man was shot to death in Pope County early Saturday morning when Arkansas State Police troopers and Department of Correction officers confronted him after a vehicle chase, state police reported.
Bobby Shane Patrick, 27, purportedly was driving a stolen car when a state trooper tried to stop him about 8:35 p.m. on Arkansas 7 in Russellville. Patrick, who had been wanted for violating his parole, fled about 10 miles east before he abandoned the car and ran, state police spokesman Bill Sadler said in a news release.
Authorities located Patrick shortly after 2 a.m. in an area of tall grass not far from where he had left the car. Patrick "raised a handgun at officers, who then fired their weapons, killing him," the release states.
No other injuries were reported.
Two state troopers involved in the shooting were placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation, which is standard procedure after the use of deadly force. The troopers' names will be released after the investigation is completed, Sadler said.
Correction Department spokesman Dina Tyler said her agency also is reviewing the circumstances of the slaying. Three correction officers involved had not been placed on administrative leave Saturday.
It was unclear who shot Patrick or how many times he was shot.
"Those types of answers will come from the state medical examiner," Sadler said.
Patrick had been sought by authorities since May, when he absconded from parole in Pope County for the third time in the past three years.
He was convicted of robbery and drug possession charges in 2008 and was sentenced to seven years in prison but was released on parole in 2010, according to the Department of Correction.
Patrick was arrested in 2011 and 2012 for absconding from parole. He served four months in prison for the first offense. On the second, he was locked up until January.
Officers contacted Patrick's relatives, friends and workplace after he missed another parole meeting in April.
"If a parolee doesn't show up to a meeting with their parole officer, you don't automatically issue a warrant because there could be some reason," Tyler said, explaining that "the idea is to get them into a meeting, not for them to run off and hide."
"You want to get them re-engaged in supervision," she said.
An arrest warrant was issued for Patrick on May 5.
Brooke Haley Beard, 24, of Russellville was in the car with Patrick during Saturday's chase, state police reported. She has been on probation in Yell County since April after her arrest on charges of drug possession and hindering apprehension or prosecution, authorities said.
It was unknown if the latter charge was related to authorities' search for Patrick.
Beard was in the custody of the Pope County sheriff's office late Saturday. No additional charges had been filed against her at that time.
Metro on 10/26/2014