Cops: Dallas Shooting Suspect Has Died

A former Utah state trooper suspected in several Dallas-area roadway shootings that killed at least one motorist died on Christmas Eve, a hospital official said.

Brian Smith died Wednesday night in Dallas, said nursing supervisor Arthur Clarke. The 37-year-old died around 6 p.m. at Parkland Hospital. The former state trooper had been clinging to life since early Tuesday morning when Garland police say he shot himself during a standoff, CBS Station KTVT reported.

Dallas police said they think Smith was responsible for at least one death that resulted from the shootings. Garland police were still trying to verify that the gun Smith used on himself was the same used in another man's death.

Dallas police Lt. Craig Miller said authorities were working to confirm that Smith was the gunman in separate shooting deaths minutes apart Monday on a Garland street and a Dallas interstate.

Earlier Wednesday, police shut down the freeway to re-examine the scene of one of several of the shootings.

Officials said both police departments were waiting for ballistics tests to come back for possible matches of bullet casings.

"It's just another thing that's part of the investigation," Miller said of the second freeway examination. "It's not a critical component. That's what we wanted to do, just check everything we can."

Warrants for Smith's arrest had been issued in the Fort Worth suburb of Southlake, where authorities have obtained evidence linking him to two robberies in the past eight days.

Police say Smith went to a Kroger pharmacy in Garland, Tex. around 5:30 Monday night. He said he wanted to refill a prescription, KTVT reported.

According to Garland Police Spokesperson Joe Harn, Smith was captured surveillance video robbing the pharmacy.

"He jumped over the counter with the gun, took oxycontin, jumped back over the counter and left the store," he said.

Oxycontin is the trade name for the painkiller oxycodone.

"An addiction to oxycodone can be life altering for people," said Dr. Jeff Phelps, a spine surgeon at North Hills Hospital. "It gets to the point where their main goal is to acquire more oxycodone," KTVT reported.

Dr. Phelps warns oxycodone may cause someone to only care about getting more of the drug, but it does not make a person snap. It can also cause feelings of despair and depression for someone already having psychological issues.

Both incidents involved thefts in which purses were stolen from women in vehicles parked at businesses near where Smith lived.

Police have tied Smith to the incidents through witness identification and video of him using a credit card belonging to one of the victims, Southlake police spokesman Mike Bedrich said.

Smith moved to Keller with his wife and children last spring, just months after his conduct came under scrutiny from the Utah Highway Patrol. His peace officer certification was revoked after he went on a drinking binge and threatened to kill himself.

In Utah, where Smith's problems as a trooper are just now coming to light, he's remembered as a good father who never lost his temper and coached youth soccer and basketball.

"This is a shock for everyone who knows Brian," said Michael Peterson, Smith's former bishop in the Mormon church. "Obviously, he was struggling with some things. But the Brian Smith that everyone around here knows would never have done any of these things."

Karen Baughman, a neighbor in Keller, said Smith and other members of his family showed up on her doorstep last Sunday with Christmas cookies they'd brought home from church.

"He was just hanging Christmas lights two weeks ago," she said. "I mean, this is dumbfounding."

The Garland shooting Monday happened at a major intersection, when a driver pulled up alongside a small Nissan and shot and killed the Nissan's driver, 20-year-old Jorge "George" Lopez of Rowlett, said Garland police spokesman Joe Harn.

Three semitrailer drivers were later shot at on Interstate 635, and one of those three died. William Scott Miller, a 42-year-old married father of two from Frankfort, Ky., was on his way to get on a plane to go home to his family for the holidays.

Harn said Garland police are still waiting for tests to determine if the gun Smith used on himself is the same one used in Lopez's death.

"I can tell you this: There's nothing telling us so far that it's not him," Harn said.