Highway patrol makes changes to fugitive team

The fugitive apprehension team Steven R. Julian worked for when he shot and killed Zachary C. Snyder in Cape Girardeau last February has been disbanded, and the new unit, now run by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, will have several new resources and powers available.

A Callaway County jury acquitted Julian on a charge of involuntary manslaughter Tuesday after hearing testimony that Julian shot the unarmed Snyder in the back of the shoulder while trying arrest him.

On Feb. 14, the night of Snyder's death, Julian was part of a 13-man unit responsible for fugitive apprehension across the state of Missouri. The team, managed under the Missouri Department of Corrections, handled arrests of people who had violated the conditions of their probation or parole.

The only information Julian had about Snyder was a wanted flier listing his original conviction for possession of a controlled substance related to methamphetamine and stealing a car, and an arrest warrant from Probation and Parole for parole absconder.

The parole absconder warrant meant Snyder violated his probation by straying too far from his home. His parole officer was alerted through an electronic band on Snyder's ankle.

The flier gave a brief description of Snyder, but did not list any of his prior arrests, including one for assault against a law enforcement officer and two for resisting arrest.

Julian also did not know a reference to Snyder in the Missouri Uniform Law Enforcement System contained the words "caution: violent tendencies."

Stephen Wilson, attorney for Julian, said it was not the policy of the fugitive apprehension unit to check the system or the National Instant Criminal Background Check System before serving a warrant.

The new fugitive apprehension team will have one analyst to perform these types of background checks on parole jumpers so officers know what sort of situation they are walking into, said Captain Tim Hull, spokesman for the highway patrol.

"The analyst will check the most current information available," Hull said.

At Julian's trial, information involving Snyder's prior arrests was not introduced because Julian didn't have knowledge of those incidents at the time of the shooting.

Julian testified that when he was attempting to place handcuffs on Snyder in the parking lot of a Themis Street apartment complex, he'd drawn his gun because his requested back up had not yet arrived, and it was after dark in a neighborhood he thought of as a high crime area.

Snyder made a sudden move as if to run and Julian perceived it as an attack, firing his weapon as Snyder turned and striking Snyder just under the shoulder blade.

Julian had completed 120 hours training in law enforcement, Wilson said, but he had been requesting more before the shooting occurred.

"He wanted to go through the 500 hour course, he thought that would have been a good thing," Wilson said.

Hull said the four troopers, plus a sergeant and a corporal, assigned to the new fugitive apprehension team will have more than 1,000 hours of training.

They also have "full police power," meaning their authority extends over the entire state, so if a crime occurs as they are serving a probation or parole warrant they can make an arrest, Hull said.

Another benefit of the highway patrol taking charge of the fugitive apprehension team is they can easily call on more officers to help serve a warrant by temporarily assigning road officers to help with the arrest.

When the fugitive apprehension team was disbanded, the Department of Corrections helped investigators formerly assigned to it find alternate employment, and most of them requested transfer to other divisions, according to the Department of Corrections public information office.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 245