WOMAN ACCUSED IN FBI AGENT'S DEATH IS JAILED

INDIANA TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- A drug suspect's wife was arraigned early
Thursday morning on a homicide charge, accused of killing an FBI agent
at her home during a regional drug raid throughout the Pittsburgh area.

Affidavit: Drug Suspect's Wife Shot FBI Agent

Special Agent Sam Hicks was shot to death on Woods Run Road in Indiana
Township at about 6 a.m. Wednesday. Authorities are investigating the
circumstances between the time law enforcement agents showed up at
Robert and Christina Korbe's front door and when Hicks was shot.

According to an affidavit obtained by WTAE Channel 4 Action News,
police surrounded the house and announced themselves saying, "This is
Pittsburgh police. We have a warrant for your arrest."

The affidavit indicated that Hicks, who was wearing a bulletproof
vest, looked inside the house and saw a man running, at which point,
authorities said Robert Korbe, 39, went to the basement to flush
cocaine down the sink.

According to the affidavit, Christina Korbe said she got a gun and
fired one shot down the steps, thinking it was a burglar coming in and
not federal agents. The gunshot struck Hicks, and other agents and
officers pulled him out of the house and started CPR. He later died at
a hospital.

Christina Korbe, 40, stated that she never heard police announce
themselves, but Robert Korbe told police he knew it was police and not
burglars at the door, according to the affidavit. Christina Korbe's
attorney, Sumner Parker, said it's possible she mistook the drug sweep
for a home invasion, saying she, at one point, called 911. Authorities
took her into custody while she was on the phone.

"She called 911 because of the chaotic situation where she was
concerned for her safety, and the safety of her children. And when
(she called) was right after certain events took place that required,
in her mind, the need to call the local police and get them to her
house," Parker said.

Both Korbes were taken into custody after the shooting. Authorities
later charged Christina Korbe with criminal homicide. She was taken to
a hospital with stomach pain and a pre-exisiting medical condition,
then released late Wednesday night and taken to jail.

"My client did some things that she thought were necessary under the
circumstances as she believed them to be," Parker said.

Robert Korbe shared a different account of the incident as he was
loaded into a police vehicle to face the drug charges that originally
brought the FBI to his home. (Scroll down to read more details of the
drug case. )

"They shot their own guy," he said. "I didn't shoot
him."

[Special Agent Sam Hicks was shot to death in Indiana Township while
taking part in a large drug bust throughout the Pittsburgh region on
Nov. 19.] Special Agent Sam Hicks was shot to death in Indiana
Township while taking part in a large drug bust throughout the
Pittsburgh region on Nov. 19. The FBI quickly released a statement
saying, "Based on the information right now, every indication was no
shot was fired by law enforcement at the crime scene. The
investigation is continuing."

Robert Korbe was first taken to Allegheny General Hospital, then
transferred to the
county jail in handcuffs and blue scrubs. Neither staff members nor police
said why
he had been in the hospital ( See Video: Drug Suspect Connected To FBI
Shooting
Leaves Hospital).

The Korbes' children -- a 10-year-old daughter and a 5-year-old son --
were apparently in the home when Hicks was killed. They are believed
to be staying with relatives.

Allegheny County police are investigating whether officers and federal
agents followed protocol when entering the Korbes' house with the warrant.

Dozens of county police officers, state police and federal agents
responded to the scene of the shooting -- a short, dirt road with just
seven homes. (See Map)

"We are all grieving this loss, and Sam's memory will never be
forgotten," said Special Agent in Charge Michael Rodriguez, of the
Pittsburgh FBI office. He said Hicks was working on a task force with
local police and federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents.

A neighbor who did not want to be identified told WTAE Channel 4
Action News that she saw four unmarked cars arrive at about 6 a.m.

[An affidavit indicates Christina Korbe fired a gun from the second
floor of the house, striking FBI Special Agent Sam Hicks.] An
affidavit indicates Christina Korbe fired a gun from the second floor
of the house, striking FBI Special Agent Sam Hicks.

"They all turned their lights off and headed back up the road, which I
thought was kind of unusual," the neighbor said. "About 15 minutes
later, my sister called me. She lives right next door, and she says,
'The driveway is full of police.'"

The neighbor said Robert Korbe and his family moved in not long
ago.

"I really didn't know that there was anything going on back there,
except there's always been a lot of traffic in and out of the
driveway. But that's all I've noticed," the neighbor said.

Late Wednesday afternoon, FBI agents raided Deluxe Car Care and D.J.
Variety Store, which is Robert Korbe's business on Main Street in
Sharpsburg. It was not immediately known whether authorities
confiscated anything.

Special Agent, Westmoreland County Native, Remembered

Hicks, 33, grew up in Westmoreland County and graduated from Southmoreland
High
School in Alverton.
( Watch: Who Was FBI Special Agent Sam Hicks?)

"We are all grieving this loss, and Sam's memory will never be
forgotten." - Michael Rodriguez, Special Agent In Charge of the
Pittsburgh FBI office In high school, Hicks took part in wrestling,
track, soccer, tennis and the student council, in addition to the
Youth Association for World Affairs, Students Against Drunk Driving,
Varsity Club, French Club and the French National Honor Society.

He went on to the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown and, at one
time, was part of the ski patrol at Seven Springs Mountain Resort.

"He would be the type of young man where you would say, 'Boy I'd like
to have a son like him,'" said Dick Barron, director of ski operations
at Seven Springs. "He constantly had a smile."

Barron said he's heartbroken and that the news of Hicks' death has hit
everyone at Seven Springs very hard.

"Being in a resort, everyone becomes close knit, almost like family
members," said Barron.

Hicks began coming to Seven Springs as a child and worked at the
resort for nearly 10 years. Hicks started as a tiny tots instructor in
1993. Barron said Hicks became their first snowboard patroller before
beginning a life of service -- first as a teacher. Later, Sam Hicks
became Officer Hicks, serving on the Baltimore police force from 2002
to 2007.

In March 2007, Hicks became an FBI agent. In August of that same year,
he came back home to Western Pennsylvania to work out of the
Pittsburgh FBI office.

"The FBI family mourns alongside agent Hicks' family, including his
wife, Brooke, and their 3-year-old son," said Rodriguez.

Although Hicks had only been working from Pittsburgh for a little more
than a year, he had clearly made an impact on his co-workers, and
Barron said it's an impact Sam Hicks made on everyone he met.

"We were very proud of Sam," Barron said.

Robert Korbe Sought In Federal Drug Indictment

Robert Korbe was one of 35 people charged in a drug-trafficking
indictment unsealed Wednesday. The indictment accuses the defendants
of conspiring to traffic cocaine and crack from October 2007 through
September 2008. Other suspects were rounded up throughout the
Pittsburgh region Wednesday.

Rodriguez said the alleged operation was "a violent drug distribution
ring" but did not offer any other details during a brief news
conference Wednesday morning.

Christina Korbe was not among those named in the indictment. Team 4
learned that Christina Korbe, a stay-at-home mother, had a misdemeanor
drug charge filed against her by Pittsburgh police in 1991 under her
maiden name, Christina Roland. The district attorney's office did not
prosecute.