An alleged sniper was behind bars Wednesday after a rampage that left a sheriff, two deputies and a sheriff's wife dead and residents locked in their homes in "the grip of fear."
James R. Johnson, 42, surrendered to police Tuesday evening after hiding for hours in a stranger's home. Johnson, a military-trained marksman, hadn't threatened the woman who lived there and she even made him lunch before he let her leave the house and she alerted police, said Sgt. Terry Moore, spokesman for the Missouri State Highway Patrol.The shooting spree began Monday night, when police say Johnson killed Moniteau County Deputy Leslie Roark, 27. Roark was answering a domestic disturbance call at Johnson's home near Jamestown, about 10 miles north of this town of 3,300.
While Sheriff Kenny Jones went to help Roark, Johnson went to Jones' home and killed the sheriff's wife, Pam Jones, 38, as she led a prayer meeting, police said.
The shootings led to a massive manhunt, and by Tuesday afternoon about 150 officers had gone door-to-door looking for the gunman while two helicopters scoured the hills of this town about 110 miles east of Kansas City. Businesses and schools shut down for the day, the courthouse closed and residents stayed behind locked doors.