http://www.lebanondailyrecord.com/articles/2005/05/27/local_news/news02.txt

By Edward J. Sisson

May 27, 2005

Conflicting information provided to law enforcement officials by those involved in a shooting incident at a Sleeper residence early Tuesday morning that left a man wounded, presently has the investigation at a standstill, Laclede County Prosecutor Jon Morris said Friday afternoon.

"At the time I declined to file charges on this particular case, I had reviewed the evidence that had been gathered so far," Morris said. "In my mind there were questions as to what exactly occurred -- what had prompted the shooting -- what the involvement was of all the people who were involved in the incident. Having those questions in my mind, I did not think it was appropriate to file a charge until those questions were answered.

"I want to make sure that I have all the information that's possible to gather before I file a charge, or make a final decision whether to file a charge or not."

Laclede County Sheriff Richard Wrinkle said that from what his deputies had learned, the shooting stemmed from an incident that had occurred late Monday night involving an altercation between the shooter and three men at a convenience store in which a knife was involved.

Wrinkle said the information indicated that the three men who were in a pickup later drove to the man's Sleeper home, forced their way in and threatened him and his family.

As they were leaving, they vowed to return.

The sheriff said the man had his wife and child leave and his father joined him at the residence.

The three men returned to the residence and the man said they began yelling at him.

He claimed that a shot was fired from the pickup and he returned fire with a .22 caliber rifle striking one of the passengers in the head.

The man was later flown to St. John's Hospital-Springfield for treatment of a non life-threatening wound.

The shooter was taken into custody for a time and was later released without charges as the investigation continued.

Authorities have not yet released any names