Officer Brent Long and his K9 partner Shadow were both shot on 7/11/11 in Terre Haute, Indiana while serving a warrant issued by a Sullivan County judge to Shaun M. Seeley, 33, at a home on 1812 north 8th Street after Seeley missed a court appointment. Originally officers arrived at the home at 2:00 p.m. to arrest Seeley but no one answered the door. In looking for Seeley, U.S. Marshal Greg Snider and ISP Sgt. Chris Effner found three stolen all-terrain vehicles behind the residence. A check of those ATVs revealed that one had been hot-wired, another had a false vehicle identification number and another one had been reported stolen and the vehicles were confiscated from the scene. Approximately 3:15 p.m., police received a telephone call that Seeley was at the residence, so they returned to serve the warrant. At 3:27 p.m. officers arrived back at the home and knocked for a while and heard footsteps and scuffling noises inside the residence. The house was equipped with video surveillance cameras that would have allowed the home’s occupants to watch approaching officers. Heather Elkins and Utterback came to the door. Both denied that Seeley was inside. Police entered the apartment and found three other people inside. All five people were taken out of the residence and asked if Seeley was inside. All five people were shown a color photo of Seeley and all denied knowing him, or that he was inside the apartment. Long and his dog, Shadow, were the first to enter the gunman’s home ahead of five other officers as a team of state and local police and a deputy federal marshal were going to serve Seeley an arrest warrant for violating probation and receiving stolen property. When Officer Long and his K-9 partner Shadow went into the apartment to look for Seeley, Officer Long’s K9 partner “Shadow” indicated that someone was possibly inside a closet. Trooper Jason Schoffstall was with Long, and said the dog indicated on the bedroom closet door a second time. Long went inside the closet and attempted to remove a board or false wall at the rear of the closet and according to Schoffstall that is when Seeley open fire with a 9mm, blue steel, semi-automatic handgun striking Officer Long and his canine partner “Shadow”. Long was backing out of the closet during an exchange of gunfire, and Schoffstall exited the bedroom to seek cover. Officer Scott Marshall entered the bedroom, and immediately faced Seeley, who was pointing a gun at him from five to six feet away. Marshall saw Long on the floor with his head toward the bedroom door and his feet toward the closet. Marshall reported that gunfire was exchanged and all police inside the apartment exited to a position of cover. They were repelled from the building by more gunfire and when they made final entry into the apartment to remove Long, police found Seeley in the living room of the residence, dead with multiple gunshot wounds to his lower torso and one gunshot wound to the head and was pronounced dead at the scene. Officer Long was taken to Union Hospital in Terre Haute and was airlifted to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis and died. Officer Long was wearing his vest at the time but died from two gun shot wounds to the head. Officer Long’s K9 partner “Shadow” was shot in the face and rushed to North Heritage Trails Veterinarian Clinic in Terre Haute but due to the damage to his jaw, he was later transported to a clinic at Purdue University and survived and was later released from the veterinary hospital on 7/15/11. Officer Long donated his organs so other people will have a chance to live. Long has been an officer with the department for six years. He’s worked as a K9 officer for the past three years, as well as with the swat team. Officer Brent Long’s wife, Danielle, is a dispatcher for Vigo County and was sending crews for Terre Haute police the afternoon her husband was shot. Officer Long received several commendations in his career, including two Grand Cordon Medals, an Honorable Service Medal, a Unit Citation Medal, a Good Conduct Medal and the Medal of Honor. Just two days prior to his passing, Officer Brent Long won the department’s Officer of the Month award for June for being one of two officers who stopped a car on the interstate and took a man into custody that was wanted for murder, made a huge drug bust in which 6 and a half pounds of cocaine was found and also among a group of officers who convinced a man to put down a knife that was being held against the woman’s neck. Before Officer Long was killed he had a tattoo of his K9 partner “Shadow” that he had placed on his back and was often heard saying Shadow would always have his back. K9 Shadow attended his partner’s service and funeral. K9 Shadow will be retired and will live with the Long family. Officer Long’s funeral was attended by approximately twenty-five hundred people and over one hundred police K9’s, each of them walking passed the flag draped casket. Carnations, with a dot of red, signifying the officer’s bloodshed were placed on Officer Long’s casket, as they said their last goodbyes. Officer Long was buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery on 7/18/11. “Brent D. Long Memorial Way” is the first street in Terre Haute to be named after a fallen officer. At a special ceremony in honor of Officer Brent Long, Officer Long’s wife, Danielle, was escorted into his patrol car unit 208 and spoke over his radio, saying “Baker 208 10-42” signifying Officer Brent Long has ended his final shift with the Terre Haute Police Department. He is survived by his wife Danielle Bailey Long, 11-year-old daughter Ashley, and 10-month-old son Levi. Donations can be sent to the Brent Long Family Fund at any First Financial Bank location. Those wishing to support “Shadow” may send donations to the Terre Haute Police Department K-9 program.
A Brent Long Memorial Statue was dedicated on 5/9/13 in front of the Terre Haute Police Department. Officer Long’s K9 “Shadow” passed away on 11/25/16.
Shaun M. Seeley who was shot and killed at the scene was released from the Indiana Department of Correction in February 2010 after serving five years of a 12-year sentence for dealing methamphetamine. That conviction came in September 2005 in Vigo County. Prior to that, he was sentenced to one year in prison on a theft conviction out of Greene County. His first conviction came from a notorious Vigo County murder case In 1998, Seeley was convicted of assisting a criminal. In this case, Seeley helped Billy Burns dismember the murdered body of Robert Philips. Burns shot Phillips during a drug deal gone bad. Burns used Seeley’s gun, and Seeley offered up a relative’s property to dispose of Philips’s body. While Burns got a 55 year prison sentence, Seeley received only 4 years and did only two years in prison. Seeley had been arrested in Clay County in June 2010 for resisting law enforcement. He was found at a location where federal agents were serving warrants in a federal drug investigation. He also had an active court case in Sullivan County for receiving stolen auto parts and being a habitual offender. That Sullivan County case was filed in September 2010 after Seeley was found to be in possession of a stolen pickup truck. The habitual offender information stated Seeley had prior convictions for assisting a criminal, dealing methamphetamine and theft. If convicted of being a habitual offender, he could have received several additional years in prison.
Three days after the shooting on 7/15/11, Indiana arrested seven people in connection to the crime scene that led to the deaths of Terre Haute Police Officer Brent Long and shooting suspect Shaun Seeley. Those arrests and pending charges are Heather M. Elkins, 22 (Wife of Shaun Seeley) – Maintaining a common nuisance, receiving stolen property, all class-D felonies resisting arrest, possession of paraphernalia, and false informing, all class-A misdemeanors. Police found that Elkins had received text messages from Seeley, indicating that she was in contact with the fugitive and that she knew he was inside the house. Heather Elkins has a criminal history that includes pending cases for possession of methamphetamine, paraphernalia, disorderly conduct, driving while intoxicated, driving without a license, theft, resisting arrest and visiting a common nuisance. She had been released from jail on pre- trial release. (Elkins has several charges pending for another case in Vigo County.) Bond: $65,000. – Jesse E. Padgett II, 20 (Cousin of Heather Elkins) – Assisting a criminal, receiving stolen property, resisting law enforcement, all class-D felonies, resisting law enforcement and false informing, class-A misdemeanors, and visiting a common nuisance, a class-B misdemeanor. Bond: $40,000. – Brandy Smith (Jesse Padgett’s girlfriend): visiting a common nuisance – Charles J. Elkins, 23, (Brother of Heather Elkins) – Assisting a criminal, receiving stolen property, resisting law enforcement, all class-D felonies, visiting a common nuisance and resisting law enforcement, both class-A misdemeanors. Charles Elkins has a criminal history that includes a conviction for auto theft, as well as arrests for resisting law enforcement and possession of methamphetamine in Division 5 court. Bond: $40,000. – Roberta J. Utterback, 51, (Shaun Seeley’s cousin) Assisting a criminal, possession of a controlled substance, resisting law enforcement, all class-D felonies, resisting law enforcement, class-A misdemeanor, and visiting a common nuisance, a class-B misdemeanor. Utterback has criminal cases pending in Division 5 Court for possession of a controlled substance, criminal mischief and driving under the influence of a controlled substance. (Utterback has several charges pending for another case in Vigo County.) Bond: $70,000. – Virginia D. Torres, 23, (Charles Elkins’ girlfriend) Assisting a criminal, resisting law enforcement, both class-D felonies, false informing and resisting law enforcement, both class-A misdemeanors, and visiting a common nuisance, a class-B misdemeanor. Bond: $40,000. – Luke Green (Friend of suspects): possession of methamphetamine. Reports say police found Charles Elkins, Jesse Padgett, and Virginia Torres inside the home. They also denied knowing that Seeley was at the home and armed. Following the gun fire, police again asked Heather Elkins, Charles Elkins, Padgett, Utterback, and Torres if they knew of Seeley’s presence in the home. They denied knowing he was there and armed. On 7/15/11, Heather Elkins and Jesse Padgett made official statements to the Indiana State Police and Elkins admitted to having lied to police about knowing of Seeley’s whereabouts when she was asked at the scene. Padgett also admitted to having known Seeley was hidden in the bedroom closet when police entered the home. Padgett said he was aware that Seeley had taken a firearm from the side of the bed. Padgett told investigators he saw Seeley with a gun inside the apartment, and that Padgett said he was scared that Seeley would do something dangerous. Based on Padgett’s reports, Elkins then told the rest of the people in the house to remain quiet and “not say a thing.” Padgett also admitted that he was aware of a recent semi-automatic firearm that was purchased by Seeley from someone in the neighborhood. Virgina Torres also made a statement to the Indiana State Police. Her statement coincided with Padgett’s statement. She also reported pandemonium ensued after Elkins emerged telling the others to remain quiet with police outside. Torres told investigators that Seeley searched for an item, allegedly the handgun, before going into the bedroom with Padgett and Charles Elkins prior to police entering the residence. Investigation into the residence after the crimes revealed a white powder substance that Elkins and Padgett reported to be methamphetamine, as well as paraphernalia including pipes and scales. Scott Griffy,40, sold gunman Shaun Seeley a 9 mm handgun even though he knew Seeley was a convicted felon. Prosecutors said it was illegal for Griffy even to possess a handgun because of his own criminal record. Prosecutors said Griffy could face up to 10 years in prison and be fined $250,000 on each of three federal firearms counts — unlawful sale of a firearm to a prohibited person, unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and unlawful possession of ammunition by a convicted felon. A federal judge accepted guilty pleas from two of the seven people charged in the death of Terre Haute Officer Brent Long on 12/13/11. Griffy pleaded guilty to illegally posessing and illegally selling that gun. Padgett pleaded guilty to making a false material statement to police the day they tried to serve the warrant. Griffy told police he brokered a gun deal between Brad Keller, 48, and Seeley for 3.5 grams of methamphetamine.
