MAN WHO SHOT OFFICERS ON RUN FROM INDIANA

The man who wounded two Cape Girardeau police officers before his death in a drug-related shootout was on the run from a criminal charge in another state.

Knox County, Ind., police wanted to talk to the man, Matthew Marsh, 20, about why he fled the scene of an accident that caused his car to catch fire.

In November, Marsh fled the Vincennes, Ind., area -- about 200 miles northeast of Cape Girardeau 00 although he faced only a misdemeanor warrant for leaving the scene of an accident. A Knox County deputy said police believe Marsh fled inquiries about why he was carrying flammable chemicals in his car at the time of the accident.

Monday, Marsh's brother, Jeff Marsh, said Matthew settled in Scott City, Mo., to live with his girlfriend.

Matthew Marsh was with Jenna McDaniel, 27, Saturday when Cape Girardeau police officers searched his room at the Super 8 Motel looking for a methamphetamine lab. Police say Marsh shot Cpl. Keith May in the abdomen and Sgt. Bradley Moore in the left shoulder before being gunned down.

May and Moore were in good condition at Southeast Missouri Hospital. McDaniel is in the Cape Girardeau County Jail on charges of possessing meth and materials to manufacture meth.

From his home in Vincennes, Jeff Marsh said on Monday he blames McDaniel for his brother's death because the drugs were hers.

Going to prison was Matthew Marsh's worst nightmare, his brother said.

"The only thing my brother was scared of in the whole wide world was going to jail. We were together forever. We did everything together," said Jeff Marsh. "He was no psycho. He was just scared."

Cape Girardeau police said Marsh had been using methamphetamine in a Scott City, Mo., mobile home for at least two months prior to Saturday's shootout.

Yellow and red police tape sealed the doors and surrounded the porch of Marsh's and McDaniel's mobile home on Monday. Rolls of fiberglass blocked the windows. Beneath the porch, black trash bags overflowed with debris, including rubber gloves and empty foil bubble-packs of antihistamine, an ingredient in meth.

Police said witnesses had observed Marsh and McDaniel acting suspiciously at the motel on Saturday. The Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force got the tip and alerted Cape Girardeau police. May and Moore went to the motel to investigate.

Methamphetamine use could shed light on why Marsh reportedly made the conflicting actions of at first consenting to a search of his motel room but then opening fire on the officers with a .38-caliber handgun.

Police Lt. Carl Kinnison said it is not yet known how much physical therapy could be required before the officers return to duty.

The Cape Girardeau Police Officers Association has set up benefit funds for May, Moore and their families. Contributions may be made at any Bank of America location in Cape Girardeau, care of the Wounded Officers Fund. Volunteers also will be collecting money Wednesday in the 300 block of Broadway.

Aside from the misdemeanor hit-and-run, Marsh had no other outstanding charges with the Knox County police, a department spokesman said.

Marsh had attended sixth and seventh grades at the South Knox Middle-High School in Vincennes but left the school after one month of eighth grade. From then on, the district listed him as home-schooler, a secretary at the school said.