Police shoot man after he takes hostage

By Staff
Leada Gore, Hartselle Enquirer
The owner of Hometown Market said he’s thankful for law enforcement’s quick response after a man entered the store Friday night with a gun and took a female clerk hostage as he tried to escape.
Larry Dean Maples, 48, of Hartselle, was shot in the shoulder by an unidentified Hartselle police officer as he left the store. He is listed as being in stable condition at Huntsville Hospital. He faces one count of first degree robbery, three counts of kidnapping and one count of felony assault in connection with the incident.
According to the Hartselle Police Department, Hometown employees were closing for the night when a man armed with a gun entered the store. The employees were taken to the cash office at gunpoint. One employee was able to leave the cash office and called the police around 9:15 p.m.
Hartselle Police Department spokesperson Justin Barley said Maples saw the police approaching the store as he was leaving and reentered the store. He then left the store with a female clerk in a choke hold with the gun pointed at her head.
Officers later said the weapon was a BB gun.
Barley said Maples, who was yelling at officers to stand back, and the unidentified clerk walked across the street to the Hartselle Medical Center parking lot. The clerk slumped and officers fired a shot at Maples, striking him.
The Morgan County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the incident, standard procedure in a shooting involving an officer.
Sheriff Greg Bartlett said he expects the grand jury to clear the officer.
At the time of the incident, Maples was out on bond for an array of narcotics and burglary charges.