Deputy marshal killed in Mo. shootout

ST. LOUIS -- A federal marshal was shot and killed and two other law enforcement agents were wounded yesterday after a suspect they were trying to arrest on assault and drug charges opened fire. Authorities fired back, killing the man.

Deputy U.S. Marshal John Perry, 48, died of gunshot wounds last evening at Saint Louis University Hospital, the U.S. Marshals Service in Washington said. Perry had been with the U.S. Marshals for almost 10 years.

Another marshal was shot in an ankle, while a bullet grazed a police officer's face, sending him toppling down stairs in the two-story home during the violent confrontation shortly before 7 a.m.

Authorities said the three law enforcement officers went to the house in a poor neighborhood on the city's south side to arrest Carlos Boles, 35, on charges of assaulting a law enforcement officer and possessing marijuana. The police department said it requested backup from the U.S. Marshals Service because of a tip that Boles might be a threat.

When the officers arrived at Boles' home, they discovered there were children inside, according to a police account. After the children were escorted outside, the officers entered and began a floor-by-floor search for Boles. When they spotted him on the second floor, Boles started shooting, police said.

Sannita Vaughn, who identified herself as Boles' sister, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that her three children, ages 8, 13 and 15, were staying with her brother and his girlfriend at the home.

Boles' criminal record in St. Louis stretched back to 1992, when he was charged with first-degree assault at the age of 16, according to court records and the Marshals Service.