Trooper Jimmie Linegar was shot and killed at a highway checkpoint.
On April 15, 1985 at about 1:45 pm, Trooper Linegar and his partner were working a standard driver's license checkpoint about ten miles south of Branson at the intersection of US Highway 65 and Missouri Highway 86. Neither Trooper Linegar nor his partner were aware that the man they had stopped had just been indicted by a federal grand jury for involvement in a Neo-Nazi group, The Order, in Seattle for a series of commando-style armored car robberies used to finance white supremecist activities. Trooper Linegar radioed in a computer check and was advised that the driver was wanted for illegal possession of a weapon in another state. As Trooper Linegar approached the van the suspect exited the vehicle and immediately opened fire on him with an automatic weapon. Four shots struck Trooper Linegar. The suspect then swung around and shot Trooper Allen Hines who was standing behind the van. Trooper Hines dove under the van and fired at the suspect from under the vehicle. The suspect fled on foot into rough, brushy moutainous terrain of the Ozarks. Trooper Linegar died at about 3:00 pm at Skaggs Hospital in Branson.
Suspect Tate was captured six days later in a park in Forsyth, Missouri after a massive manhunt. A .380 caliber automatic machine pistol was found 25 or 30 feet from the park bench where suspect Tate was captured. That pistol was matched to the bullets that killed Trooper Linegar. The suspect, David Tate, was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
Trooper Linegar served with the Missouri State Highway Patrol for four years and had previously served with the Lebanon Police Department for five years. He was survived by his wife, 5-year-old daughter, and 3-year-old son.
In the summer of 2003 a stretch of Route 86 was renamed in honor of Trooper Linegar. Interred: Memorial Park Cemetery.
Missouri Law Enforcement Memorial