The Associated Press

Thu, Jan 8, 2009 (11:18 p.m.)

An ex-Utah state trooper who police say was involved in a series of roadway shootings last month learned just hours before the deadly incidents that he would soon be arrested on burglary and robbery charges.

Southlake police planned to arrest Brian Smith in connection with a Dec. 17 mugging and a Dec. 22 vehicle burglary, according to the Thursday online edition of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Smith shot himself in the Dallas suburb of Garland after a brief standoff with police about six hours after the Dec. 22 shootings. He died two days later after being taken off life support.

Detectives connected Smith to the crimes after a witness to the vehicle burglary wrote down his license plate number. Southlake police Detective Richard Anderson interviewed Smith about it two hours after it was reported, documents released Thursday said.

Anderson's affidavit said Smith was "very calm" at first, but grew "irritated" after nearly 30 minutes of questioning. Smith asked to stop the interview after Anderson told him about a surveillance video that showed him committing the burglary while an unidentified woman was in the car with him in Southlake, about 25 miles northwest of Dallas.

After Smith said the woman was not his wife, Anderson ended the interview then walked Smith to the police parking lot, according to the Dec. 22 affidavit.

A gunman who identified himself as Brian Smith stole prescription drugs from a Kroger pharmacy in Garland later that day. After the pharmacy robbery, several motorists were shot at in Dallas and suburban Garland.

Police in Dallas have connected Smith to the fatal shooting of truck driver William Scott Miller, who was killed while driving on an interstate. Twenty-year-old Jorge Lopez died about 10 minutes earlier after being shot in his car while at a red light in nearby Garland. Police have linked Smith's weapon to the one used in that killing.

Two other people were shot at on the interstate that night. Neither was hit by bullets.