Carthage, MO: Three killed in two days in SWMO

CARTHAGE, Mo. —
Three people, two men and a woman, are dead in three separate shooting incidents in two days across Southwest Missouri.

The Jasper County Sheriff’s office said on Thursday it was investigating the shooting death of Dustin Jansen, 23, of either Carl Junction or Joplin, after he shot himself in front of a deputy on Missouri Highway 171 in Carl Junction on Wednesday.

Sheriff Archie Dunn said a deputy was driving on Pennell Street in Carl Junction when he noticed a car parked on the side of the road with a man inside talking to a woman outside the car in the 500 block of Pennell.

“The deputy didn’t think things looked right so he drove around the block to check on what was going on,” Dunn said. “When he came back around, the car had moved across Pennell into a park and the driver was still inside watching. The deputy decided he was going to pull in and talk to the man, but when he pulled up behind the car, the man sped off.”

Dunn said the driver proceeded east on Pennell, violating several traffic laws as he went. He turned south on Missouri Highway 171 and drove to Gum Road area when he pulled off onto the shoulder.

“The deputy pulled up behind and the man exited the car with a hand gun in his left hand,” Dunn said. “The man left his car in gear and it rolled off the side of the road. The deputy got back in his car to back up and put some distance between him and the man. The suspect began to walk toward the deputy but he never pointed the gun at the deputy. The deputy saw him put the gun to his head, then under his chin, and pull the trigger.”

Dunn said Jansen died instantly.

Dunn said his office is continuing to investigate to try to determine why Jansen killed himself. He said the coroner decided no autopsy was necessary, but he did take a blood sample for toxicology tests.

Dunn wouldn’t speculate as to whether or not a pending divorce involving Jansen had anything to do with the incident, saying they were still interviewing family and witnesses.

Newton County
Earlier on Wednesday, a man killed himself in Newton County after shooting a sheriff’s deputy in the leg during a domestic dispute in Goodman. The McDonald County Deputy, Kenen L. Martinez, was recovering in good condition late Wednesday.

The suspect, Al Davis, age unknown, led Newton County deputies on a pursuit on Missouri Highway 43 south of Seneca after the incident in Goodman.

When Davis encountered a Newton County Sheriff’s Office road block at U.S. Highway 60, he veered off the road and shot himself in the head before deputies could get to him.

Joplin
At 12:30 a.m. on Thursday, Joplin police said a woman, 48, was shot in a Joplin home and died later Thursday in a hospital.

The shooting happened at 1423 S. Sergeant Ave., and a man who lives at that address, Wayne J. Fick, 47, was arrested for unlawful possession of a firearm.

Police would not say whether the incident was accidental, a suicide or murder.