Suspect still wanted 30 years after shooting Missouri state trooper through kitchen window
Thirty years ago a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper was shot through his kitchen window in Anderson, Missouri. Today, the suspect believed to have been behind the crime remains at the top of the patrol's most wanted list and is still wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigations.
On the evening of Sept. 16, 1994, Cpl. Bobbie J. Harper was watching TV with his family and went to the kitchen to get something to eat when he was shot in the chest by a high-powered rifle bullet through the window, according to News-Leader archives. The 54-year-old underwent surgery, as the bullet fragments had caused serious damage to his heart, lung, intestines and liver, and was reported to be in critical but stable condition at a Joplin hospital.
A week later, charges were filed against Timothy Thomas Coombs, 35, initially for attempting to kill a law enforcement officer and armed criminal action and later by federal authorities for trying to flee.
In April 1984, Harper was named the Department of Public Safety's Employee of the Month for confronting an armed man who threatened to take his rifle into the county courthouse. A few months after the shooting, Harper retired from his 31-year career with the MSHP. In April 1996, Harper died at age 55 of complications from heart surgery at a Milwaukee hospital.
Why was Harper shot?
According to archived News-Leader reports, Coombs shot Harper as retribution for jailing a fellow member of a white supremacist religious sect, Robert Joos Jr. The highway patrol believed Coombs belonged to Citizens of Christ but he has also been known to identify himself as an ambassador for the "Kingdom of Yahweh Ministries," according to the patrol's most wanted description.
Joos was the top leader of the "Sacerdotal Order of the David Company," a self-made church professing racial separation and defiance of man-made governments, according to a News-Leader article on religious extremists.
In 1986, police tried to arrest Joos for "stimulating the legal process," accusing him of filing fake legal orders in a case that didn't involve him. He remained at large for almost eight years, until June 1994 when Harper and other officers arrested him.
When authorities visited Joos' farm looking for clues after the shooting, they were met by a man armed with a rifle claiming to be James Wilson. Authorities then found his real name was Timothy Coombs. The most wanted post also lists Cal Liberty, William Patterson and James Mason as other aliases.
While his last known address had been in Witts Springs, Arkansas, Coombs was born and believed to have family members in Ocean County, New Jersey, according to the FBI. The highway patrol noted Coombs had worked as a tree planter for private contractors in National Forest areas, as well as a paramedic and volunteer firefighter.
The case filed against Coombs in 1994 in McDonald County Circuit Court remains open and the FBI continues to offer a reward of up to $100,000 for information that could lead to his arrest.
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Family sues Missouri State Highway Patrol
In 2016, Harper's daughter Kimberly and widow Sharon Harper filed a lawsuit against the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the McDonald County Prosecuting Attorney with the help from the ACLU of Missouri for violations of the Sunshine Law. The Harpers had filed requests beginning in 2012 for all records pertaining to Joos' arrest, the shooting of Bobbie Harper and the resulting investigation. They were denied access to most of the records.
The circuit court sided with the patrol, citing the federal Freedom of Information Act regarding FBI reports and an on-going investigation process. Upon appeal in 2019, the Missouri Court of Appeals sided with the family, noting that FOIA only applies to federal agencies and that any records retained by the MSHP, even those including FBI documents, would fall under the Sunshine Law.
Upon the 30th anniversary of the shooting at the Harpers' home, Coombs remains wanted. Although publications by the ACLU note he is believed to be deceased, Bridget Patton, spokesperson for the Kansas City FBI Bureau, said the investigation is ongoing, and the reward is still offered for any information related to the case. If Coombs is alive, he would be 65 years old.
Marta Mieze covers local government at the News-Leader. Have feedback, tips or story ideas? Contact her at mmieze@news-leader.com.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: FBI still looking for suspect 30 years after Missouri trooper shooting
