SHOOTING INQUIRY MAY TAKE WEEKS

WEST ALEXANDRIA | Montgomery County sheriff's detectives found a loaded
pistol at the scene of Clayton Helriggle's fatal shooting, but no blue
plastic cup near the shooting scene, Sheriff Dave Vore said Wednesday.

Helriggle, 23, was shot by police Friday night during a drug raid at a
Lanier Twp. farmhouse near West Alexandria. The Preble County Sheriff's
Office said Helriggle was shot as he walked down a staircase carrying a
handgun. Helriggle's friends said he was carrying a blue plastic cup.

Vore, who offered few new details at a press conference in Dayton, said the
investigation could take several weeks. He urged people to be patient
"before we draw any conclusions of misconduct or cover-up."

The results of Vore's investigation will be presented to a Preble County
grand jury for review, Vore said.

Preble County officials sought independent investigations by the Montgomery
County sheriff's and coroner's offices. Vore said his detectives received
the call about 8:30 p.m., about an hour and 45 minutes after the shooting.

"We knew this is what they would find," said Michael Helriggle, 55, Clayton
Helriggle's father. "This was our biggest complaint, that it was all taken
care of by the time Montgomery County got there. The scene was changed."

Helriggle and his wife, Sharon, live near their son and his four roommates,
and arrived within minutes of the shooting, before the area was cordoned
off. He said he stayed a couple of hours, watching as officers continued
entering the farmhouse. Three roommates of Clayton were in the house at the
time of the shooting; one was outside.

"Preble County officers went in and out of the house, after I was told the
house would be sealed," he said.

Helriggle said he counted several cruisers, including Lewisburg police
"coming in and leaving; maybe five Preble County sheriff's cars; the state
highway patrol had the road blocked, and there were two Richmond (Ind.)
cruisers, including a K-9 crew, and two West Alexandria cars. They also had
the big SWAT-like wagon, but they carried the kids away in cruisers."
Nobody has been charged in the raid.

Michael Helriggle said he is "tickled to death" Montgomery County officials
are conducting the investigation. "I have no qualms about that."

Helriggle said he has met with Montgomery County detectives "and they seem
to be very, very professional. I'm not worried about them. But, like I
said, they're only going to see what was there when they got there."

Clayton Helriggle was shot during the execution of a search warrant by a
Preble County Sheriff's special operations team.

More than one shot was fired during the raid, said Vore. who said he would
not confirm that only one officer had fired at Helriggle. Authorities have
not identified anyone involved in the raid, though Lewisburg Police Chief
John Wright said he placed one officer on administrative leave after the
shooting.

The scene was turned over to an investigator from the Montgomery County
Coroner's office at 9 p.m. Friday, and a team of Vore's detectives arrived
shortly after, Vore said.

Detectives took weapons belonging to three officers of the task force. They
also found a loaded semi-automatic pistol, spent ammunition rounds,
casings, a small amount of marijuana, drug paraphernalia and some cash,
Vore said.

Vore would not say where the pistol was discovered, whether it had been
fired, or who owned it.

Preble County Sheriff Tom Hayes said Tuesday that a gun owned by Helriggle
was "found in close proximity of his body."

The team that handled the raid, called the emergency service unit, is made
up of "about a dozen" officers from the Eaton, Lewisburg and New Paris
police departments, plus county sheriff's deputies, all considered
sheriff's deputies when on special assignment, Hayes said.

The scene was sealed about 4 a.m., then re-opened at 10 a.m. Saturday for
the purpose of continuing the original search from the warrant, Vore said.
That search produced an additional small amount of marijuana, drug
paraphernalia, cash, a loaded pistol magazine, ammunition and other
weapons, Vore said.

Witnesses in the residence were interviewed by Vore's detectives at the
Preble County Sheriff's Office on Friday evening. Vore said he expected
further interviews with those witnesses.

Vore declined say how the original search was executed, saying he had not
seen the raid plans. His detectives also will be reviewing them, he said.

Helriggle said he believes the account by his son's four roommates, that
one saw Clayton coming down the stairs with the cup in his right hand.

He said he'd like to see the officer who shot his son take a polygraph test.

"If (he) says that Clay had gun, I can't go any farther than that, other
than they didn't have any reason to be there in the first place."

The search warrant affidavit and return were sealed after the raid,
according to Preble County Prosecutor Rebecca Ferguson.

Vore said his detectives have received excellent cooperation from Preble
County authorities, and said Hayes runs a professional organization.

"The story will be worked backwards and it will accurately portray the
events that evening," Vore said. "We want to make sure that every stone is
turned over and looked under. That's going to take a little bit of time."