A Texas man wanted in Fort Smith for domestic battery and assault was shot and killed in Oklahoma on Wednesday afternoon by the Sequoyah County sheriff.
Sequoyah County Undersheriff Greg Cox said Sheriff Larry Lane shot James William Huskey, 45, about 1:45 p.m. Wednesday during a struggle at a McDonald's restaurant in Sallisaw, Okla. Huskey shot at Lane and his chief deputy, Cox reported, and the sheriff returned fire.
"'I'm going to shoot you. You're going to have to kill me,'" Cox said Huskey repeated during the struggle.
Huskey continued to struggle after he was shot, Cox said, and had to be handcuffed before emergency personnel arrived and took him to Sequoyah Memorial Hospital in Sallisaw, where he was later declared dead.
Lane and Chief Deputy Charles House weren't injured in the struggle. They were on leave Thursday, pending an internal investigation of the shooting, Cox said. Cox called the Oklahoma Highway Patrol to investigate the shooting because of the involvement of the sheriff's office and Sallisaw police officers.
"They are in good spirits and seem to be coping with the problem real well," Cox said, noting Lane and House are veteran law enforcement officers.
Fort Smith police alerted Sallisaw officials to be on the lookout for Huskey. Fort Smith police were obtaining felony warrants for Huskey for second-degree domestic battery, aggravated assault and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
A news release from the Fort Smith Police Department said Huskey's sister Misty Cox, 39, reported Wednesday morning her brother arrived at her home in the 4600 block of Mussett Road and asked for help. She refused, knowing Huskey was wanted in Texas on sexual assault charges.
Misty Cox told police when she refused to help him, Huskey hit her on the side of her head with a handgun and fired one round into a wall, the release said. He drove off in a black Chrysler 200 with Texas tags.
Misty Cox was treated at a Fort Smith hospital for a cut on her left ear, the release said.
The release said police considered Huskey to be armed and dangerous.
The Sallisaw Police Department received information from Fort Smith officials Huskey had connections to the area, Greg Cox said. Sallisaw police contacted the sheriff's office, and 12-15 officers from both departments began to search for Huskey in Sallisaw.
Lane and House stopped to search the McDonald's restaurant just off Interstate 40, Cox said. As House was walking toward the restroom, he spotted Huskey in a booth. House continued to walk to the restroom so he wouldn't alert Huskey. Once inside, House called Lane to tell him about Huskey's location.
Both men then approached Huskey. As they did, Huskey pulled out a small 38-caliber revolver. Lane grabbed the gun as he and House struggled to arrest Huskey, Greg Cox said.
During the struggle, Huskey pulled his gun free from Lane's hand and fired one shot, which didn't hit anyone. Lane then drew his gun and shot Huskey.
One restaurant customer was nearby when the struggle started but collected his belongings and moved away, Cox said.
NW News on 07/07/2017