The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) has filed two attempted murder charges against the suspect involved in a shooting in Stuart Oct. 17. Fifty-three-year-old Randall Comly faces two counts of attempt to commit murder on a peace officer, a class B felony. Comly fired rounds at Guthrie County Deputies, Kent Gries, and Stuart Police Officer, Tyler DeFrancisco, while they were serving felony arrest warrants for Comly at an apartment in Stuart. Upon learning law enforcement was at the door, Comly attempted to conceal himself in a closed bedroom closet and refused to comply with commands from authorities to exit the closet. Comly abruptly opened the door wielding a handgun and fired six rounds at Gries and Defrancisco. They returned fire, striking Comly in the arm, and exited the apartment. Deputies, Jim Mink and Steven Henry, were securing the perimeter of the property and were wounded by rounds that exited the structure during the exchange. Initial evidence suggests those shots originated from law enforcement inside the residence. Ballistic testing of the rounds that injured Mink and Henry is currently pending, and authorities say it may take several weeks for them to have a definitive answer. Comly was taken into custody following a 90-minute standoff. A class B felony carries a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.
