tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26981669.post3320085154367710354..comments2024-03-23T10:55:30.196-05:00Comments on Cold Fusion Guy: Will the Cold Springs cops reimburse Ryan Larson?Jim Peethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07649414726939918803noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26981669.post-77670872069866808712013-01-06T07:53:38.544-06:002013-01-06T07:53:38.544-06:001/6/12: Bar patron was a wanted man night of slayi...1/6/12: <a href="http://www.startribune.com/local/185765522.html" rel="nofollow">Bar patron was a wanted man night of slaying</a><br /><br /><i>The local man who hanged himself after becoming a ''person of interest'' in the shotgun killing of officer Thomas Decker had faced imminent arrest on the night of Decker's shooting.<br /><br />According to court records, Eric J. Thomes, 31, a regular patron of Winners Bar near where Decker was shot, had failed to appear in court in connection with a drunken-driving charge and a judge had ordered that he be taken into custody.<br /><br />Thomes was later linked to a vehicle seen leaving the bar after Decker was shot, and police had interrogated him several times before he committed suicide last week.<br /><br />His death threw a new obstacle before investigators, who said Friday they were still struggling to piece together the events that led up to Decker being shot twice in the head. Decker had assisted in the DWI arrest of Thomes, but it was unclear whether Thomes understood he was about to face the threat of arrest on the night of Decker's killing.<br /><br /></i><br /><br />Jim Peethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07649414726939918803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26981669.post-31466440418061341842013-01-05T20:09:22.682-06:002013-01-05T20:09:22.682-06:001/5/12: Two updates today
Esme’s Blog: Questions ...1/5/12: Two updates today<br /><br /><a href="http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2013/01/05/cold-spring-reacts-to-developments-in-cop-killing-case/" rel="nofollow">Esme’s Blog: Questions Continue In Decker Case</a><br /><br /><i>The BCA and the Stearns Co. Sheriff’s Department continue to refuse to clear Larson outright, despite the fact they have the murder weapon, which was found at a property Thomes, not Larson, had access to.<br /><br />Four days after Larson was released, on Dec. 8, Cold Spring police arrested Thomes for a DWI offense.<br /><br />But Thomes only became the focus of the investigation after a tip in response to a $100,000 reward. Decker was shot at point-blank range in a packed parking lot under a bright parking lot light, yet no one has come forward to say they witnessed the shooting.</i><br /><br />AND<br /><br /><a href="http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2013/01/05/cold-spring-reacts-to-developments-in-cop-killing-case/" rel="nofollow">Cold Spring Reacts To Developments In Cop-Killing Case</a><br /><br /><i>Many townspeople in Cold Spring, Minn., said Friday that they think the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office owes 34-year-old Ryan Larson – the initial suspect in last year’s officer shooting death — a big apology.<br /><br />Larson agrees.<br /><br />“When you go to Google and look up my name, all you see are stories and my picture in connection to the murder. They [the authorities] need to fix that,” he said.<br /><br />Earlier that day, authorities said another “person of interest” in the case, 31-year-old Eric Joseph Thomes, hung himself this week after fleeing investigators that were trying to talk with him. The weapon that allegedly killed Officer Tom Decker, a .20-gauge shotgun, was also found on a property connected to Thomes.</i><br />Jim Peethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07649414726939918803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26981669.post-48266762441948900292013-01-04T20:48:46.102-06:002013-01-04T20:48:46.102-06:00Connections between Officer Decker and Eric Thomes...Connections between Officer Decker and Eric Thomes:<br /><br /><a href="http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2013/01/04/authorities-to-update-on-cold-spring-cop-murder/" rel="nofollow">Cold Spring Murder Suspect Found Dead</a><br /><br /><i>Authorities also said a black van connected to Thomes that had been seen on the night of Decker’s death was recovered.<br /><br />...<br />Thomes was convicted of driving while intoxicated in Stearns County in 2011 and had a few other speeding and traffic violations. The St. Cloud Times reported that Decker was one of two officers who had stopped Thomes for possible drunken driving in the past.<br /><br />And the 31-year-old men were Rocori High School classmates, too.</i>Jim Peethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07649414726939918803noreply@blogger.com