Drug suspect's wife charged in death of FBI agent

(CNN) -- A Pennsylvania woman was charged in the shooting death of an FBI special agent who was killed at her Pittsburgh-area home Wednesday while serving a warrant on a suspected drug ring.

Christine Korbe, 40, was charged with one count of criminal homicide in connection with the death of Agent Samuel Hicks, 33, Allegheny County police said. She is being held without bond.

CNN affiliate WTAE in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, reports Christine Korbe is the wife of one of the drug suspects.

Police surrounded the house and announced themselves saying, "This is Pittsburgh police. We have a warrant for your arrest," according to an affidavit obtained by WTAE.

The affidavit indicated that Hicks, who was wearing a bullet-proof vest, looked inside the house and saw a man running. At that point, authorities said the homeowner, Robert Korbe, 39, went to the basement of the house to flush cocaine down the sink, WTAE reported.

According to the affidavit, Christine Korbe said she got a gun and fired one shot, thinking it was a burglar coming in and not federal agents.

The gunshot struck Hicks and agents and officers pulled him out of the house and started cardiopulmonary resuscitation. He died at an area hospital, WTAE reported.

Christina Korbe stated that she never heard police announce themselves, but Robert Korbe told police he knew full well it was police and not burglars at the door, according to the affidavit, WTAE reported.

Hicks was accompanied by other members of a multijurisdictional anti-drug task force that was rounding up suspected traffickers in the Pittsburgh area, said FBI spokesman Bill Crowley. He said he didn't know how many people were arrested.

Hicks, a native of western Pennsylvania, was married with a 3-year-old son.

Hicks and other law enforcement officers were serving a federal warrant in connection with "a violent drug distribution ring,"

"This is the most tragic information you can relay to any spouse, child, parent or colleague," said Michael Rodriguez, special agent in charge of the FBI's Pittsburgh office. "He served with honor and bravery and will be greatly missed by his colleagues here in Pittsburgh and throughout the FBI."

Rodriguez said Hicks had been with the FBI since March 2007, and was assigned to the Pittsburgh office five months later. Previously he was an officer with the Baltimore Police Department and a teacher.

He had graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in Johnstown in 1999.

The last FBI special agent killed in the line of duty was Barry Lee Bush, 52, who was accidentally shot and killed by a fellow agent outside a bank on April 5, 2007, in Readington, New Jersey, according to the FBI.

All About Federal Bureau of Investigation • Pittsburgh