Sheriff: Man Who Shot Deputy Threatened Wife

An Oklahoma man suspected of fatally shooting a North Texas deputy had threatened his wife and others before deputies arrived in response to a report of a domestic disturbance, the sheriff said Sunday.

Wesley Davis -- who was killed in the subsequent shootout with authorities -- had threatened his wife, sister and another person with a gun before he was locked out of a house near the town of Venus, Johnson County Sheriff Bob Alford told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He did not specify Davis' Oklahoma hometown.

Deputy Clifton Taylor, 31, was among three deputies who went to the house just outside Venus, Alford said.

"A deputy knocked on the door and was told that he was in a storage shed. They did tell him to be careful," he said.

The deputies went to the shed, found its door closed and knocked. There was no answer from Davis, Alford said.

"They jerk the door open. He's sitting there. They can't see his right hand," Alford said.

The deputies demanded that Davis, 47, show them the hand. "He says, 'I can't,' and then he comes up with a gun and opens fire," Alford said. Deputies Patrick Geyer and Eric McClelland returned fire, killing Davis, the sheriff said.

Taylor was wounded in the neck, side and back and was airlifted to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, 20 miles to the northwest, where he died, Alford said.

A bullet also struck a two-way radio on Geyer's gun belt, but he was not wounded, Alford said.

The Texas Rangers are leading the investigation.

Alford said Taylor had been one of his deputies for a little more than three years and was engaged to be married. He said Taylor was working three off-duty jobs.

Funeral services for Taylor are pending.

Venus is a town of about 2,900 residents about 30 miles southwest of Dallas.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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