MSHP: McLendon shot in side; autopsy refutes witness account

Editor's note: The spelling of Andrew Ryan McLendon's last name was clarified by the funeral home Saturday. Discrepancies in the spelling of his name existed in court records.

An autopsy performed on Andrew Ryan McLendon, 33, of Cape Girardeau on Friday revealed he was shot three times in his left side, according to a Missouri State Highway Patrol news release.

The shots entered McLendon from his front side at a downward angle, according to the release.

Assistant Cape Girardeau County coroner David Taylor said the angles of the shots do not indicate McLendon was lying down when he was shot, as claimed by a resident of the house where he was shot.

McLendon was shot several times and killed by a Cape Girardeau police officer about 10 p.m. Wednesday inside a house at 611 La Petite Court.

Cape Girardeau police stated in a news release McLendon was holding a knife and approached the officer in a threatening manner.

Police were investigating suspicious activity at the home before the shooting, according to the release.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol Division of Drug and Crime Control is investigating.

Investigators interviewed several law-enforcement and civilian witnesses, according a Highway Patrol release.

The information gained from the investigation and the result of the autopsy has been consistent with information provided in previous Cape Girardeau police news releases, according to the release.

According to Friday’s news release from the Highway Patrol, officers identified themselves and gave verbal commands for McLendon to drop the knife.

“McLendon did not comply with the commands, advanced toward an officer and was shot,” according to the release.

McLendon was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he died on the operating table about 1 a.m. Thursday, according to Taylor.

David Stroder, a resident at 611 La Petite Court, said he saw the shooting.

Stroder told the Southeast Missourian and others he knew McLendon was lying face-down on the floor of his basement and had a folded knife in his hand. The officer identified himself as police, exclaimed McLendon had a knife and shot him three times in the back after pulling a couch off McLendon, Stroder said.

That account is refuted by the coroner’s office.

Attempts to reach Stroder on Saturday at his home and through his family were unsuccessful.

McLendon was on parole after pleading guilty to second-degree assault in 2014. He was arrested after he attacked a man with a baseball bat, who then shot McLendon.

After the shooting Wednesday, officers arrested Rodney “Ralph” Harris, 37, of Cameron, Missouri, on six warrants for failure to appear in court and a warrant for probation violation after he was found in the basement with McLendon, Cape Girardeau public-information officer Adam Glueck said Thursday.

Harris was on probation after pleading guilty to distribution of a controlled substance in 2013.

Stroder pleaded guilty to unlawful use of drug paraphernalia and driving while revoked in 2016, distribution of a controlled substance in 2009 and nonsupport in excess of $5,000 in 2009.

Several neighbors said there was a constant flow of people going in and out of 611 La Petite Court. One neighbor said police were watching the house.

bkleine@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3644

Pertinent address:

611 La Petite Court, Cape Girardeau, Mo.