CORONER'S INQUEST SET IN DRUG SUSPECT'S DEATH

Almost seven weeks after a motel room shootout with police resulted in the death of a 20-year-old man, a coroner's inquest will be held Friday to determine whether shots were fired in self defense.

The inquest, held when a cause of death is questionable or involves a law enforcement officer, could not have been held sooner, Cape Girardeau County Coroner Mike Hurst said. Hurst had waited until Wednesday to receive a final autopsy report on Matthew S. Marsh from a medical examiner in Farmington, Mo.

The conditions of officers Keith May and Brad Moore were also a factor in the inquest's timing, Hurst said.

"We had to wait until they were physically and mentally able to testify," he said.

May and Moore were shot at the Super 8 Motel at 2011 N. Kingshighway on Feb. 10 while investigating a tip from the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force. May was shot in the abdomen by a .38-caliber handgun, and Moore was hit in his left shoulder.

The bullet that struck May passed through his body and was recovered, but Moore still has the slug in his shoulder.

"It hasn't stopped hurting since I got shot," Moore said Wednesday.

Moore will continue consultations with doctors today when he goes to St. Louis University Hospital. Doctors have told him that the bullet is positioned against a nerve.

"I get this lightning pain when I turn my head which shoots down from my neck all the way to my little finger," Moore said.

After beginning physical therapy last week, Moore said he is able to move his arm about two inches. He is uncertain about when he might be able to return to work.

"The doctor initially said a year, but the way it's going, it could be longer," he said.

In the meantime, Moore said he has been catching up on his reading.

May has made frequent visits to the police department since the shooting, Lt. Carl Kinnison said. Doctors have said May should be able to return to duty within three months.

May could not be reached Wednesday for comment.

Moore and May will be among approximately five witnesses expected to testify to a coroner's jury of six, Hurst said.

Jury to issue verdict

According to state statute, the jury's duty is to determine how and by whom a person came to his death, and then they issue a verdict.

In this case the focus will be on whether the shooting of Marsh was justifiable self defense, said Morley Swingle, Cape Girardeau County prosecutor.

Although the circumstances surrounding the shooting appear to be clear, Swingle said he agreed with Hurst's decision to call an inquest.

"Particularly in a case involving a shooting by a law enforcement officer, the public interest is served by full disclosure of all the facts to the public," Hurst said in a press release.