Springfield hotel shooting suspect arrested in Texas

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A man on the run for 10 days since injuring nine people at a hotel party was arrested at his sister's apartment near Fort Worth, Texas, police and U.S. Marshals said Wednesday.

Curtis B. Sharp, 25, had been wanted since the Jan. 15 shooting at the Motel 7 in Missouri's third-largest city. He is charged with first-degree assault, second-degree assault and two counts of armed criminal action.

Springfield police said Sharp was arrested at 12:30 a.m. Wednesday in Hurst, Texas, a suburb of Fort Worth, about 480 miles southwest of Springfield.

Sharp, who was previously described by Springfield police as armed and dangerous, put up no resistance when law enforcement officers knocked at the apartment door shortly after midnight. The Marshals Service said no weapon was found.

"As the relative opened the door we could see him (Sharp) just standing in the living room a few feet away. He didn't have much chance to do anything anyway," said Kevin McAllister, supervisor of the U.S. Marshals Service in Fort Worth.

McAllister said a tip from marshals in Missouri led them to the apartment. The sister and other relatives in Hurst did not realize Sharp was wanted, he said, adding that discussions after the arrest indicate Sharp's relatives picked him up in Missouri after he called to say he wanted to visit.

"I think he'd only been here less than two days, about a day and a half," McAllister said.

Sharp, whose street name is Cortez, will be extradited to face charges in Greene County, Springfield police spokesman Matt Brown said. That could take two to three weeks, he said.

Four men and five women, all in their early 20s, were injured in the shooting early Jan. 15 at a Hotel 7 in north Springfield.

Police spokesman Matt Brown said it was one of the worst shooting incidents in Springfield history as far as anyone in the department could remember.

Police had withheld the names of the victims, citing concerns for their safety, but released the identities after Sharp was arrested. Six were from the Springfield area, one was from nearby Marshfield, one from St. Louis and one from Austin, Texas.

None of the victims contacted by The Associated Press wanted to be named or comment on the case.

According to court records, one victim -- a 22-year-old man shot in the upper left thigh -- identified Sharp as the shooter. The man told police he heard Sharp and another shooting victim arguing shortly before shots rang out about 3 a.m. The shooting victim involved in the argument appeared to be the main target, the witness said.

Records show the 24-year-old man involved in the argument with Sharp had numerous injuries.

Police won't say what type of gun was used or how many shots they think were fired, but records show detectives recovered eight 9 mm shell casings from the ballroom floor.

According to the Missouri Department of Corrections, Sharp was released from its custody in September 2005 after completing a 120-day court-ordered drug treatment program.

Sharp was sentenced to three concurrent terms of 10 year in prison for three drug convictions in Greene County but was released on the condition he attend drug court, Wanda Seeney, a spokeswoman for the Corrections Department, told The Associated Press. Sharp failed to fulfill that requirement and repeatedly violated probation terms, Seeney said.

Sharp is originally from the St. Louis area, but police said his last known address was in Springfield.