A man convicted of burglarizing a McKinney home two years ago right after a man died inside waved a gun at a Parker County deputy Monday and fled into the nearby woods, authorities said.
The fugitive, Winford Watkins, 44, of Garland, eluded a large manhunt and was still missing Monday night.
Watkins had been on the run since he was convicted last month in Collin County and received a long prison sentence. Watkins also has a long criminal record.
"He was screaming out, 'I'm not going back, I'm not going back,' said Parker County Sheriff Larry Fowler.
Just last month, Watkins skipped the last day of his trial. The judge convicted him and sentenced him to a long prison term.
He and several others were convicted of burglarizing the home of a man who died in the house, which was also set on fire.
Fowler said a deputy pulled Watkins over just after 2 p.m. near the intersection of Cindy Lane and Midway Road in a rural area between Azle and Springtown.
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During the stop, the deputy saw the man had a gun hidden in papers in his car, Fowler said. The deputy took cover in a nearby tree line.
Fowler said the man got a lug wrench from his car and tried to break out the window of the deputy's patrol car, which contained an AR-15 semi-automatic weapon. The deputy came out of the tree line and fired his weapon at the man to try to keep him from taking the gun.
