This is where a deputy and another man exchanged gunfire, wounding each other, on June 10 near Dixon. (KY3 News archives)
Story Published:
Jun 27, 2008 at 4:15 PM CST
Story Updated:
Jun 27, 2008 at 4:24 PM CST
WAYNESVILLE, Mo. -- A man from Dixon is accused of shooting a Pulaski County sheriff’s deputy on June 10. Rex Pennebaker, who is in a hospital in Columbia, was charged on Friday with first-degree assault of a law enforcement officer.
Pulaski County Sheriff J.B. King says Deputy Don Hayden went to a home on Highway D near Dixon after someone called 911 after hearing gunshots at the home. When Hayden arrived, he and Pennebaker both jumped out of their vehicles and opened fire. Each man was shot several times. Ambulances airlifted them to Columbia for treatment.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol investigated the shootout and sent a probable cause statement to the prosecuting attorney, resulting in the charge. A judge set Pennebaker’s bond at $1 million cash. A county deputy will guard Pennebaker’s hospital room around the clock until doctors release him.
Pennebaker could face a sentence of life (30 years) in prison if he's convicted. Online court records show he was fined seven years ago after he pleaded guilty for a misdemeanor third-degree assault charge.