Post by Scumhunter on Apr 16, 2020 0:24:44 GMT -5
(Above photo credit: nebraska.tv via Clay County (Kentucky) Emergency Management)
From The Hastings Tribune (hastingstribune.com):
CLAY COUNTY — Authorities in Clay County asked residents to shelter in place Tuesday and Wednesday as they searched for a parolee who had reportedly fired a handgun at sheriff’s deputies.
Residents are asked to avoid the area where officers are searching in southwestern Clay County near Deweese.
Wesley Blessing, 45, is considered to be armed and dangerous, and residents are asked to keep their doors locked.
Hastings Police Department notified the Clay County Sheriff’s Office that they were investigating a crime of violence and the suspect was believed to be in the area in Clay County near County Road F and County Road 303. Two Clay County Sheriff’s deputies went to investigate and try to locate the suspect. At 4:40 p.m. Tuesday, a deputy radioed that shots had been fired. The Clay County Sheriff responded to the area, called in all off-duty deputies, while Sutton and Harvard Police Departments responded to the call.
Adams, Hamilton, Fillmore and Nuckolls counties sent deputies to assist. The sheriff requested support from the Nebraska State Patrol which sent multiple troopers and its Troop C commander. Responding deputies and troopers established a perimeter around the area and a citizen reported seeing something unusual in the shelter belt around their home in that immediate area.
Clay County Emergency Management issued a shelter in place order for residents who live in that area of the county. NSP activated the regional SWAT team to conduct the search since the suspect already had fired at deputies. NSP air units were moved to this scene and worked to locate the suspect. Air, foot, K-9 and law enforcement searches found the suspect wasn’t at that farmstead.
Down South Bar and Grill in Deweese provided 50 meals for the officers. Meals and water were distributed to the officers on scene. The Clay County Highway Superintendent, Tom Roemmich, came to the scene as two bridges were still washed out over the Little Blue River in the area and delivering food to the perimeter units required knowledge of the rough terrain and alternate routes of travel in the Spring Ranch Area. Roemmich also used his knowledge of the area to provide layouts of the surrounding properties and their owners to the NSP Command Team.
Law enforcement searched the area for several hours and into the early morning hours of Wednesday but found no leads to locate the suspect or his weapon. The Clay County Sheriff and deputies continue to search the area for the suspect. Emergency management is supporting them with logistics and community updates.
Residents who are at home in that area of the county have been asked to keep their doors locked and notify the Sheriff’s Office if they notice anything suspicious.
Blessing is 5 feet, 11 inches tall, with brown hair and brown eyes, weighs about 225 pounds and was wearing brown coveralls. He was last seen near the intersection of County Roads 303 and F, where the shots were fired. Blessing reportedly had fired shots at law enforcement with a 9mm handgun at around 4:40 p.m. Tuesday.
Anyone with information about the suspect or seeing anything suspicious is asked to call 911.
The search included over 100 officers from Clay, Adams, Fillmore and Nuckolls counties, including officers with the police departments in Harvard and Sutton. The Nebraska State Patrol also assisted with a SWAT team, search dogs, helicopter and airplane.
Blessing is on parole from the Nebraska State Penitentiary where he had been serving a 23- to 42-year sentence for burglary, second-degree arson and theft by taking in Gage County, according to the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services website. His sentence began in 2007, and he was released on parole Dec. 26, 2018.
www.hastingstribune.com/news/authorities-search-for-parolee-in-rural-clay-county/article_023063ce-7f3f-11ea-99b9-0bc51e7eeb59.html
Thoughts? Based on local online media, Blessing (who is anything but based on his past history), was still at large at least as of April 15th, 2020. His ex-girlfriend also claims he held her against her will on Tuesday night so this is an extremely dangerous alleged suspect: nebraska.tv/news/local/update-woman-held-against-will-escapes-and-notifies-authorities-of-armed-man
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