Cop was shot once before; suspect held

Renton police Officer Larry Strauss can consider himself lucky. Then again, maybe he's unlucky.

On Sunday, for the second time in his 20-year career, Strauss was shot in the line of duty. Police officials can't recall a single other Washington case in which an officer endured multiple shootings.

After the first shooting, in 1991, Strauss was awarded a Medal of Valor, becoming the only Renton police officer to earn that honor.

Strauss, 49, was listed in serious condition Monday afternoon in the intensive-care unit of Seattle's Harborview Medical Center, suffering from a bullet wound in his neck.

"I believe he is doing as well as can be expected under the circumstances," said Penny Bartley, spokeswoman for the Renton Police Department.

A suspect was arrested early Monday morning after a nearly seven-hour manhunt.

According to Bartley, Strauss saw a group of men dart across four lanes of traffic on Rainier Avenue around 7:45 p.m. Sunday and get into a van.

Strauss approached the van, which was parked in a strip-mall lot near the Renton Municipal Airport.

Bartley said so far there is no evidence that the men were fleeing a crime scene as they ran across the busy road. Nonetheless, as Strauss approached, one man ran.

According to Bartley, the suspect turned and fired, hitting Strauss in the neck. The officer returned fire and called for help, but by the time backup arrived, the suspect was gone.

As officers searched, a 911 call came in from a nearby business around 2:15 a.m. Monday about a suspicious man who had come in asking for a ride, Bartley said.

The man turned out to be the shooting suspect and was arrested. According to Bartley, he is 48 years old, has 10 prior felony convictions and was wanted on a warrant on burglary charges.

The Seattle Times generally does not name criminal suspects until they are formally charged.

Meanwhile, two of the three men who crossed the road with the suspect also are being held in connection with the case. The third man, a 46-year-old from Burien, was released early Monday.

"We'll have to decide as we weed through this whether there will be any formal charges" filed against the three, Bartley said.

The first time Strauss was shot began with a call from a real-estate office on South Grady Way in March 1991.

Employees there said a man came into the building threatening them with a gun. The man, Donald Francis Venefra, apparently was angry with his estranged wife for failing to pay their mortgage on time.

Not long after Strauss arrived, Venefra approached him from behind. The two struggled and shot each other. A round lodged in Strauss' bulletproof vest and bruised his chest. Venefra suffered a gunshot wound to the chest.

Venefra was convicted of second-degree attempted murder and sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was released in March 1998.

Strauss received the department's Medal of Valor.

Now he is the only Washington officer in memory to have survived two shootings.

"Being shot twice," said Bill Hanson executive director of the Washington Council of Police and Sheriffs, "I can't recall another one like that.

"Sometimes," he added, "you just can't avoid it."

Staff reporters Sara Jean Green and Tricia Duryee and researcher Miyoko Wolf contributed to this report.

Maureen O'Hagan: 206-464-2562 or mohagan@seattletimes.com