Deputy injured during possible #MichaelVance sighting. Follow @KOCOPATTY for breaking details
Michael Vance, the target of a massive weeklong manhunt, has been killed during a shootout with deputies, police tell KOKI-TV.
A deputy sheriff was shot Sunday night during the search for Vance in western Oklahoma, KOCO-TV reports.
According to KOKI, police received a tip Sunday from a caller who reported seeing a car matching the description of one Vance, 38, was thought to be driving. The car was covered in brush. The news station reports that police then found bloody rags and a suspected camp site near where the car had been spotted, but the car was gone by the time they arrived.
Vance had been on the run for a week, since October 23, when police say he shot two Wellston police officers with an AK-47-style rifle and then killed his aunt and uncle during a crime spree that also included multiple carjackings.
Michael Vance. (Facebook)
The two Wellston police officers survived the shooting. Vance was shot twice during the first gun battle.
The search for Vance took police to Hammon, Oklahoma on Sunday, October 30, where the campsite was found. The deputy was shot near Leedey, Oklahoma, about 15 miles away, KOCO reports.
The deputy, from Dewey County, was shot in the arm and taken to a local hospital, KOKI-TV reports.
.@OkCountySheriff says Vance had nothing to lose, very hardened criminal who didn’t want to go back to prison, had nothing to live for
.@OkCountySheriff Whetsel “it was a good conclusion for the citizens of Oklahoma” on Michael Vance shootout
.@OkCountySheriff says it’s too early to tell if Vance had any help @koconews
The manhunt for Vance had led to supposed sightings nationwide, as the FBI, Oklahoma Highway Patrol, the U.S. Marshals Service and several local sheriffs’ offices desperately searched for him.
Vance was recently arrested on charges accusing him of sexually assaulting a child, and authorities have said he was targeting family members and others who brought the allegations against him.
The public was warned to use caution and not approach Vance. Police said he has AIDS and investigators told KOTV’s Meagan Farley that he may try to spread it to anyone who comes in contact with him.
Michael Vance. (E911 Lincoln County/Facebook)
Vance posted two videos on Facebook Live while on the run. The videos were streamed live as he drove a stolen truck, and talked about how things didn’t go the way he expected, along with his plans for getting a new stolen vehicle.
“This is more intense than I thought this was gonna be, to say the least,” he says in the rambling video. He appears to be bleeding from a chest wound, and shows the a gun next to him in the truck.
In the video, Vance says things are going to get more “intense.”
Michael Vance in an undated mugshot.
In the videos, Vance also appears to be referencing the child sexual assault charges brought against him, saying the allegations are lies. Officials told KOCO-TV that he was also making threats against other family members, who are now safe.
He says it was a set-up and that he knew an unidentified woman was worried about him getting out of jail.
After showing the gun, he says it is the “real deal.”
“This s*it ain’t a joke, this ain’t a prank. I’m going f*cking live. If you want to know what happens next, stay tuned to your local news,” Vance says.
The video ends as Vance gets a phone call. He tells his sister he loves her and thanks her for supporting him.
“This is the interesting part, this is where it gets interesting,” he says while ignoring the call. “It’s too late now.”
During the search for Vance, police found a man and a woman dead at a home in Luther, KWTV reports. It is not clear when they were killed. They were both Vance’s family members.
Police said the man, his uncle, was found dead in the yard of the home and the woman, his aunt, was found dead inside.
The home is near the Redbud Energy Facility, according to KWTV.
Court documents obtained by KFOR show Vance’s uncle, Ronald Wilkson, had a large cut on his neck consistent with an attempt to sever his head. He had been shot dead using an AK-47 rifle.
Vance’s aunt, Kay Wilkson, had similar injuries, along with a large cut on her shoulder consistent with someone trying to cut off her arm.
Vance is also accused of shooting a store clerk in Sayre, Oklahoma, and attempting to steal the clerk’s vehicle, KWTV reports. The clerk was shot in the leg, but is expected to survive, according to the news station.
Vance was wanted on two counts of first-degree murder, unauthorized use of a vehicle and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
He was recently released from the Lincoln County jail after being arrested on child sexual assault charges, Sheriff Charles Doughtery told a KOKH-TV reporter at the scene.
Vance was accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl, who told police she was asleep when Vance began rubbing her back, KWTV reports. She said he then put his hand down her pants and touched her before beginning to kiss her, according to the news station. She told police the abuse lasted nearly an hour.
The victim later told a family member and they went to police.
He was expected to return to court next week.
Oklahoma City Sheriff John Whetsel told HLN that Vance is believed to have targeted his aunt and uncle because they could testify against him in the sexual assault case.
Police have said Vance had a “kill list.”
Records show that Vance has been arrested several times, on charges including obtaining cash or merchandise by bogus check, felony larceny of an automobile, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, and assault and battery.
According to court documents obtained by KFOR-TV, Vance was first arrested in 1999, when he was 21, on a charge of misdemeanor assault and battery.
Two years later, he was charged with a felony, bogus check writing, and pleaded guilty, receiving drug treatment and probation.
Michael Vance in an undated mugshot.
Five victim protective orders were filed involving him in Oklahoma County in 2014 and 2014. One was filed against him by a woman. The other four were filed by Vance against a woman and children.
Vance has been married and divorced twice, and has been sued in the past for failing to pay child support, court records show.
“From looking at his criminal history, there’s nothing anyone in law enforcement or in the judicial system would have said this guy is going to do what he has apparently done now,” legal expert Scott Adams told KFOR. “This man has gone off the deep end for some reason. He has shot law enforcement. He has stolen vehicles and driven across the state of Oklahoma. How he did that is beyond me. He got all the way to Sayre. I’d say his days are numbered.”
