Fallen agent called 'thoroughly decent' Fallen agent called 'thoroughly decent'

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Fallen agent called 'thoroughly decent'

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

This story was written by Michael A. Fuoco based on his reporting and that of staff writers Lawrence Walsh, Cindi Lash, Bill Schackner, Sadie Gurman and Torsten Ove.

In the Southmoreland High School yearbook, 1993 graduate Samuel Hicks listed his plans: "To attend college for law enforcement."

Yesterday, he died living out his dream, as an FBI agent.

Samuel Hicks

Agent Hicks, 33, who joined the FBI in March 2007 after serving as a Baltimore police officer for five years, was shot about 6 a.m. as he and other law officers attempted to serve a warrant at a home in Indiana Township in connection with a drug ring. He is survived by his wife, Brooke, and their 3-year-old son.

Agent Hicks was assigned in August 2007 to the FBI's Pittsburgh office, said Special Agent-In-Charge Michael A. Rodriguez.

Agent Rodriguez read a brief statement to reporters outside the FBI's South Side office praising Agent Hicks for his bravery while mourning his "ultimate sacrifice."

"We are all grieving with this loss and Sam's memory will not be forgotten," he said.

Like others who worked with the fallen agent, Agent Rodriguez was too emotional to say more about Agent Hicks, the first FBI agent to be killed in the line of duty in the Pittsburgh area.

Three other agents from the area were killed elsewhere. Martha Dixon-Martinez, 35, a Mt. Lebanon native, was killed Nov. 22, 1994, in a shootout at the Washington, D.C., police headquarters. Jerry Dove, 30, of Charleston, W.Va., was killed in 1986 in Miami, and Gregory W. Spinelli, 24, of Indiana County, was killed in a 1973 shootout in Charlotte, N.C.

In a statement yesterday, the family of Agent Dixon-Martinez expressed its condolences.

"We are once again stricken with grief and we are heartsick for the Hicks family," the Dixon family said.

Agent Hicks graduated in 1999 from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown with a bachelor of science degree in biology.

He taught school for a time in Maryland and then joined the Baltimore Police Department in June 2002. He served on the force until February 2007 and a month later became an FBI agent.

Excited about being assigned to his native Western Pennsylvania, Agent Hicks and his family moved to Richland.

Brandon Shaw, 24, who lives a few houses down from the agent's home, said he often saw the Hickses walking with their son.

"He seemed to be quite the family man," Mr. Shaw said. "He was very cordial and very friendly."

Agent Hicks was an accomplished winter sports enthusiast who was well-known at Seven Springs Mountain Resort, where he was a member of the ski patrol before he moved to Maryland.

"Sam was the type of young man that you'd be proud to have for a son," said Dick Barron, the resort's director of ski and snowboard operations.

Wesley Nicholson, principal at Southmoreland High School in East Huntingdon, Westmoreland County, said teachers there recalled him as a "respectful, polite and well-rounded student," who had been involved in academics, clubs and sports.

While in high school, the future agent was a wrestler, ran track and played soccer and tennis. He also was involved in student council, and was a member of the Youth Association for World Affairs, SADD, the varsity club, the French club and the French National Honor Society.

At Pitt-Johnstown, Agent Hicks belonged to the Acacia Fraternity and served as its president in 1997.

Robert W. Matson, a Pitt-Johnstown history professor who was faculty adviser to the fraternity, remembered Agent Hicks as a thoughtful young man who expressed interest in public service.

"He came in every week to have a talk with me about fraternity business," Dr. Matson said. "The discussions would always veer off into talking about life. He'd sort of use the occasions to think out loud, to dream and say, 'What do you think about that, Doc?' I know that public service, government work was one thing he discussed," he said. "It's a tragedy. He was a thoroughly decent human being."

Michael A. Fuoco can be reached at mfuoco@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1968.

First published on November 20, 2008 at 12:00 am

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