In brief: Reserve deputy thought he fired stun gun

TULSA, Okla. – An Oklahoma reserve deputy who shot and killed a man during an undercover operation thought he had his stun gun when he opened fire, according to authorities.

The Tulsa County sheriff’s office told reporters Friday that 73-year-old reserve deputy Robert Charles Bates shot and killed Eric Courtney Harris after pulling out his service weapon instead of the stun gun.

Bates is an insurance company executive assigned to the Violent Crimes Task Force. The sheriff’s office said Bates spent time with the Tulsa Police Auxiliary and is a former full-time officer.

Maj. Shannon Clark said Harris had met an undercover officer to sell him a pistol and ammunition and ran when deputies tried to arrest him, then fought with another deputy when he was shot.

Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ex-drummer dies in crash

CARTERSVILLE, Ga. – The former drummer and a founding member of the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, Robert Burns Jr., died late Friday in a single-vehicle crash in Georgia, police and his father said.

Burns’ vehicle went off a road just before midnight as it approached a curve near Cartersville, striking a mailbox and a tree, Georgia State Patrol spokeswoman Tracey Watson said. Burns, 64, was killed in the wreck. He was not wearing a seat belt.

The single-vehicle accident remains under investigation.

Burns was one of five musicians who founded the band in Jacksonville, Florida. While Burns was with the group, it recorded “Sweet Home Alabama,” “Gimme Three Steps,” and “Free Bird.” He left the group in 1974.

Drug dealing charges force cop’s retirement

FRESNO, Calif. – A deputy police chief in California has resigned amid federal drug charges, including conspiracy to distribute oxycodone and heroin, authorities said Friday.

Deputy Chief Keith Foster’s retirement from the Fresno Police Department was effective immediately, his attorney E. Marshall Hodgkins said in a statement. Foster, 51, was among six people arrested last month, ending a yearlong investigation by the FBI and ATF that used wiretaps and surveillance.

“After much reflection, and on the advice of counsel, he has determined that his effectiveness in the department would be severely limited even if he is ultimately exonerated of the federal charges currently pending against him,” Hodgkins said in a statement provided to the Fresno Bee.

A 29-year veteran of the department, Foster was placed on paid administrative leave following his arrest on suspicion of conspiracy to distribute and/or possess the drugs with the intent to distribute them. Foster had overseen patrol in four police districts as a deputy chief since 2007. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and remains free from jail while the case plays out in court.

If convicted, Foster could spend up to 45 years in prison and be ordered to pay $2.5 million in fines.