2 charged in shooting of deputy in Mahnomen
Two Twin Cities-area men were charged Friday in connection with a shooting that left a Mahnomen County sheriff's deputy critically wounded.
Thomas Lee Fairbanks, 32, was charged with first-degree attempted murder and other counts in the shooting of Deputy Christopher Dewey, 26. His bail was set at $1 million.
Daniel Kurt Venier, 27, was charged with lesser counts. His bail was set at $500,000. Venier allegedly told police that he was not the one to shoot Dewey.
Dewey was shot in the head and the abdomen Wednesday morning while checking a report of shots fired in a neighborhood in Mahnomen. A backup deputy found Dewey lying in the driveway.
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The shooting led to a nine-hour standoff at a mobile home that ended when the suspects surrendered peacefully.
MeritCare Hospital in Fargo, N.D., where Dewey was being treated, said Friday that he was no longer in a medically induced coma or being sedated.
He began breathing on is his own Friday afternoon. He was in stable condition in the hospital's critical care unit.
Dewey's family members posted on the CaringBridge Web site Friday morning that he had been responsive and at one point flashed a thumb's-up.
About 50 uniformed law enforcement officers and a dozen of Dewey's family members attended the hearing Friday morning.
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Information from: The Forum, http://www.in-forum.com
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)