The Murder of Patrol Officer Daniel Longstreet
For this case, I watched an episode of Murder in the Heartland. It’s season 3 episode 12, titled ‘Officer Down.’
An officer is found dead in his patrol car.
Background
Daniel Philip Longstreet was a married father of three young daughters. He had been one of two full-time officers in the small town of Higginson, Arkansas, a town of less than 700 people.
Daniel or Danny, as he is referred as, had been on the Higginson police force for about 2 years. He was described as a dedicated officer, who had a jolly smile. He cared about his community, especially the children, as he was very close to his daughters.
Daniel Longstreet
The Murder
On March 14, 1997, a man called 911, around 5:30am. He said that a police officer had been shot at a four-way stop, and that he had heard the gunshots.
The man told the dispatcher that the owner of a nearby store had come out, and was attending to Danny.
Randel Homsley, a part-time police officer, was out driving his wife to work, when he heard the call on his radio. By the time he arrived, Danny was already dead.
He had been shot three times. One shot penetrated his heart, one to his spine, and one had gone through one of his arms. The passenger window had been shot out, and a shell casing was found in the car.
By 7:30am that morning, regional and state police departments had joined the case.
A Strange Finding
During the autopsy, the medical examiner found what looked like numbers and letters scrawled on Danny’s palm. It was a license plate number belonging to a man named Dale Miller.
On March 14, around 10:30am, the police went to speak to Dale. He admitted that was his license plate number. Dale said that he knew a man who had borrowed his plates because his were expired.
The man’s name was Justin Swain, and he was known to the police. Danny and Justin actually had a few run ins. A few months before the murder, Danny had cited Justin for having fictitious plates. Justin was pulled over, and spent a night in jail due to a warrant for another crime. However, the warrant ended up not being valid anymore. The theory was that Justin held a grudge for having spent time in jail.
The Number One Suspect
The day after the murder, the police went to Justin’s home. Justin’s then wife Amanda saw two police officers looking at the license plates on their vehicles. They told her that they were looking for Justin.
Amanda told the police that Justin had left in the middle of the night, and that when she woke up around 5am on March 14, he was gone. When she called him, he was at his friend Jackie’s house. She said Justin was home by 7:30am, and for awhile, she was afraid that he killed Danny.
Justin made it clear that he didn’t like the police, but the police spoke to Jackie, who confirmed his alibi. Justin had been at Jackie’s from 4-7am, and Amanda’s call to her proved that Justin was there. He was ruled out.
Justin was actually interviewed in this episode. He said that he understood why the police were looking at him. He even believed for a second, that he was being framed.
Other Possible Theories
A few days after the murder, a man came into the police station with a new lead. He said he had overheard a man talking to another man about Danny’s murder. He had apparently said that Danny would still be alive if he hadn’t messed around with another man’s wife.
The man was described as being 6’3-6’4, slim, long black hair, and had been wearing a cowboy hat.
The police looked into whether or not Danny was having an affair. They searched his computer, but couldn’t find any proof that he ever had an affair.
The second theory was that the real target was Chief Tom Bird. The patrol cars were all similar back then, so the police notified Chief Bird about this. He said that all he cared about was finding who killed Danny, who was also his friend.
This turned out to just be a theory. Someone was mad at Danny, and wanted their revenge.
The Town Troublemaker
The police knew of one more person in town that had problems with Danny. His name was Tim Askins, and he was 27-years-old. Tim didn’t like the police, especially Danny, he had been stopped for various traffic stops. He thought he could do whatever he wanted, including speed and drive under the influence.
Shortly before Danny’s murder, Tim had driven a Jeep into several road signs. Tim walked away, and didn’t think he’d be getting a ticket for a DWI. He reported his Jeep stolen, which turned into a felony fraud case.
Danny was set to testify against Tim, who could’ve received jail or prison time.
The police went to speak to Tim, who told them that he had been at work from 8pm-8am, on the night of the murder. The police were stunned when Tim’s alibi checked out.
A Sinister Plot
The case stalled until they received the information that they had been waiting for.
A man had walked into the police station with a Ruger Magnum .957 pistol. The gun was inside a black case, and covered in mud. He said it was the murder weapon, and that his friend Jess Fulgham had borrowed it.
Jess and his wife Kristie, who was Tim Askins’ sister, had told him that they loaned the gun to Tim. Tim was the one who shot Danny, and buried the gun before giving it back to the owner.
Jess and his wife Kristie were interviewed. Jess said that Tim wanted to scare Danny, but Kristie said Tim had been talking about murdering him.
They had picked up Tim in the early morning hours, and drove past Danny, who was sitting in his patrol car. Tim got out of the car, and shot Danny three times. Tim then walked back to the car, and asked the two of them to dispose of the gun.
Tim was brought in for questioning. He lawyered up, and was released because the police had no evidence to hold him.
The Convictions
On March 18, 1997, Kristie and Jess were arrested in connection to Danny’s murder.
Kristie called her brother from jail, and asked how he could let them sit in jail, when he was the one who dragged them into it. Tim just hung up on her.
Tim’s alibi began to fall apart. His co-workers eventually told the police that Tim wasn’t seen after 4:30am on the day of the murder.
He had been wearing a plaid jacket when he shot Danny. The jacket was tested at a state crime lab. They found glass from the passenger side window embedded in it, and it had gun shot residue on it as well.
On September 8, 1997, Tim pleaded guilty to capital murder. He was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
Jess received 30 years in prison, and Kristie received 6 years for hindering an investigation.
Tim Askins in a more recent mugshot
FINAL THOUGHTS
Danny’s oldest daughter, who was 13 at the time her father was killed, was interviewed in this episode. It broke my heart to listen to her talk about the pain that she saw her mother and sisters go through, after they learned that Danny had been killed.
Danny seemed like he was a really good police officer, and person. Danny’s daughter said she wanted to be interviewed to remind people that officers have families too, and because of how some police officers are treated. It seemed like Danny did the best he could with the resources that this small town probably had. He didn’t deserve to have his life taken away because he was just doing his job. Tim Askins deserves to rot in his prison cell.
Sources
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/21737032/daniel-philip-longstreet
https://www.odmp.org/officer/14890-patrol-officer-daniel-philip-longstreet
http://names.lawmemorial.org/officers/l/daniel-philip-longstreet.html
https://thecinemaholic.com/daniel-longstreet-murder-where-is-timothy-askins-now/
