Pubdate: Thu, 20 Nov 2008
Source: Tribune-Democrat, The (PA)
Copyright: 2008 The Tribune-Democrat
Contact:  http://www.tribune-democrat.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4063

FBI AGENT KILLED FBI

Officer Was UPJ Graduate

GLENSHAW -- An FBI agent and former UPJ student was shot and killed
Wednesday while serving a warrant at the home of an alleged cocaine
dealer near Pittsburgh.

Special Agent Samuel Hicks, who was taking part in a drug-ring
roundup, was shot around 6 a.m. in Indiana Township, a middle-class
community about 10 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.

The FBI declined to provide any details of the shooting other than to
say that it did not appear law enforcement officers fired any shots.

The homeowner who was taken into custody, Robert Korbe, told
reporters as he was being led into a police car, "They shot their own
guy."

Special Agent William Crowley, an FBI spokesman, told The Associated Press:
"Based on the information we have right now, every indication is that no
shot was fired  by law enforcement at the crime scene."

Hicks, 33, had been with the FBI since March 2007, and was assigned
to the Pittsburgh office in August 2007, said Michael Rodriguez,
special agent in charge of the office.

Korbe's wife, Christina Korbe, was not named in the drug indictment,
but was being questioned by detectives Wednesday about the shooting,
Allegheny County Police Assistant Superintendent James Morton said.
He declined to answer other questions.

A former Baltimore police officer and school teacher, Hicks graduated
from Southmoreland High School in Alverton and from
Pittsburgh-Johnstown with a degree in chemistry in 1999. He leaves
behind a wife, Brooke, and a 3-year-old son.

"We are deeply saddened to learn that we have lost one of our
Pitt-Johnstown alumni family," Robert Knipple, UPJ spokesman said.

"From the time he graduated, Samuel was doing amazing work at helping
to make our communities better and safer," Knipple added. "We extend
our condolences to his family, friends and colleagues."

Knipple said Robert Matson, UPJ professor of history, remembers
Samuel as someone who showed tremendous potential for a promising
career.

He is remembered as a "genuinely nice person and someone who was a
pleasure to know."

Hicks, of Champion, graduated with a minor in chemistry and lived on
campus while attending UPJ. His mother is a teacher in the Rockwood
Area School District.

A former Baltimore police officer who had been an FBI agent for less
than two years was shot and killed Wednesday while serving a warrant
at the home of an  alleged cocaine dealer near Pittsburgh.

"Special Agent Hicks made the ultimate sacrifice that any law
enforcement officer makes for his country,"  Rodriguez said in a
statement read to reporters. "He served with honor and bravery and
will be greatly  missed by his colleagues here in Pittsburgh and
throughout the FBI."

Korbe was one of 35 people charged in a 27-count drug-trafficking
indictment unsealed Wednesday. The indictment accuses the defendants
of conspiring to  traffic cocaine and crack from October 2007 through
September.

Korbe's initial court appearance on the drug charges lasted less than
five minutes, and the agent's shooting  was not discussed. Korbe was
represented by a public defender, but told the judge that he intended
to hire his own attorney.

The judge scheduled a detention hearing Monday for Korbe at the
request of the federal prosecutor. In the meantime, Korbe was to be
held at the Allegheny County Jail.

A woman who answered the phone at Hicks' home said Brooke Hicks was
not taking calls.

FBI Director Robert Mueller said: "The loss of Sam  Hicks is a
tragedy. Our hearts and prayers go out to Sam's family and the
members of the Pittsburgh field office."

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's office would not comment on
whether an autopsy would be performed on Hicks. The office referred
calls to the FBI, which  didn't immediately return a call seeking
comment on the matter.

Korbe, 39, has a criminal record. In 1993, he pleaded guilty to
several drug charges and a firearms count and was given probation,
according to online court records. In 1996, he again was given
probation after pleading guilty to drug charges.

In May, he was arrested on charges of aggravated assault, recklessly
endangering another person, resisting arrest and drug counts,
according to online court documents. Sumner Parker, Korbe's attorney
in  that pending case, did not immediately return a message.

The cream-colored house owned by Korbe backs up to fields and woods.
A child's basketball net and play fort could be seen in the backyard.

No one answered the door at the home of Korbe's parents, about a half
mile away. On the front door, a small magnetic red, white and blue
flag sticker read  "Honor America's fallen officers."

Korbe's mother, Antoinette, told WTAE-TV that her son had been
involved with drugs for several years. She also told the television
station that her son and his wife got a protection-from-abuse order
against her, but  she didn't provide any details.
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