Staff report
The suspect in the fatal shooting of Adams County Deputy Heath Gumm has been identified by authorities as Dreion Martise Dearing.
Dearing, 22, is facing charges of first-degree murder of a police officer, assault and burglary. He was being held in the Adams County jail without bond. Authorities had not released a photo of Dearing as of the afternoon of Jan. 26, citing the ongoing investigation.
"There are still witnesses that need to be talked to, and we want to make sure we get their version of the events as they know them, not as something they saw on TV or read in the newspaper," District Attorney Dave Young after the Jan. 26 advisement hearing.
Dearing was convicted of robbery in 2014 and sentenced to two years in a youth-corrections program.
As a teen, Dearing attended Ridge View Academy, a charter school in Watkins for at-risk youths. He competed in football and track and field.
