Ohio Officer Still Hospitalized Following Shootout

A 23-year Columbus police veteran remained hospitalized yesterday after being shot multiple times during a Saturday-morning shootout with an accused killer.

Officer John Sullivan, 58, is recovering in Ohio State University Medical Center.

He was shot four times, said Sgt. Jim Gilbert, president of the police union. Gilbert said that Sullivan was shot once in each shoulder, and also in an ear and a hip.

"He's in good spirits and was receiving visitors," Gilbert said.

Sullivan was the first of three Columbus officers hit by gunfire on Columbus' North Side that police say came from Randle L. Roberts.

The other two were identified as Sgt. Robert Forsythe, 47, a 21-year veteran, and Sgt. Tyron Hollis, 44, a 23-year veteran. Forsythe was shot in his legs, Gilbert said. Hollis had a minor flesh wound and other injuries. Both were treated at hospitals and released on Saturday.

A man who is believed to be a relative of Roberts who lives on Genessee Avenue, where the shootings occurred, also was grazed by a bullet.

Roberts was killed by police. According to Franklin County Coroner Jan Gorniak, Roberts was shot times in the head, torso, arms and legs.

Mifflin and Clinton township police officers, as well as deputies from the Franklin County sheriff's office, also were at the scene.

Investigators believe that Roberts killed four members of an Adams County family before driving to Columbus.

The dead -- related to Roberts' wife -- were identified as Kendra Stephens, 34; her 11-year-old daughter, Harley; a grandfather, George Stephens, 68; and an aunt, Sonja Stephens, 34.

Eight-year-old daughter Mariah was home when her family was killed but wasn't injured.

Roberts had several recent brushes with the law in central Ohio before Saturday; relatives said he had fled to Adams County to evade police.

He was indicted in Franklin County Common Pleas Court in early December on charges of burglary and receiving stolen property stemming from crimes that occurred in October. He didn't appear for a Dec. 20 arraignment, and a bench warrant for his arrest was issued on Jan. 6. He also had been charged in December with attempted burglary at a home in Delaware County.

Since the shooting, George and April Payne of Columbus -- Roberts' in-laws -- have questioned why Columbus police had not arrested Roberts on the warrant. They said they told police where their son-in-law was hiding in southern Ohio.

Columbus police Sgt. Rich Weiner said officers have a huge backlog of warrants to serve.

Calls for police help take priority, he said, and the Police Division doesn't have a separate squad to track fugitives wanted on warrants.

In addition, warrants for the most-serious offenses, such as murder, would take precedence, Weiner said.

As of yesterday, Franklin County Municipal Clerk of Court records listed 126,371 cases with outstanding warrants. The oldest is from a 1974 case.

Roberts' wife, Tiffany Walters, works in the catering department of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. They have two small children.

Walters is the niece of Beau Stephens, who is the husband of Kendra Stephens and the father of Harley, who were killed in Adams County. Beau Stephens was not home at the time.

Dispatch reporters Collin Binkley and Jim Woods contributed to this story.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service