August 28, 2008 10:50 am
—
Danie M. Huffman
wdreporter2@yahoo.com
The gunman who caused Springtown Police to order a lockdown at Springtown ISD on the second day of school was arrested Wednesday.
Springtown Police Chief Ed Crowdis said a warrant was issued for Hubert Wayne Gee Jr., 44, first thing Wednesday, signed by Justice of the Peace Wayne Hayes.
Watson pre-k, Springtown Elementary and Springtown intermediate schools were ordered to be locked down Tuesday by police when Gee and his wife got into a dispute.
Crowdis said it is unknown what the argument was over, but heard the wife was leaving Gee.
She alleged to officials several previous domestic violence accounts against Gee. Crowdis confirmed no reports have been made against Gee in Springtown, but the couple actually reside in Wise County.
Wise County Sheriff’s Office would not confirm Gee’s prior charges, if any, without an open records request, taking up to 10 days.
Crowdis said Gee’s wife left the scene of the initial confrontation Tuesday around 10:02 a.m. after she told officers he threatened to kill her with a .22 rifle.
Crowdis added she reportedly fled to a family member’s home in Springtown where a second verbal confrontation occurred with additional threats against her life.
A neighbor called police when they heard the second dispute.
Crowdis said Gee fled the scene through a back door of the home when police arrived.
“He went through other peoples’ yards and into a wooded area,” Crowdis said.
Authorities used a canine search unit from Bridgeport Police and a thermal imager to track Gee in a county-wide search, but lost him in a creek bottom.
Police found the .22 rifle in Gee’s SUV, which was left at the family member’s home Tuesday morning. Crowdis said the gun was loaded with one bullet in the chamber. He added the rifle’s safety was off, but officers also found a bag of ammunition in the vehicle.
Police cleared the scene around noon, dismissing the lockdown orders.
“The schools did an excellent job of locking it down and protecting the kids,” Crowdis said. “Investigators prepared the case, got the warrant Wednesday morning, received information on his location and served warrant.”
He added, Gee was located at a family member’s home just across the Wise County line in the 200 block of County Road 3797.
According to Crowdis, Springtown Police, assisted by Wise County Sheriff’s deputies, arrived to arrest Gee and he came without further incident.
Springtown Police charged Gee with a third degree felony of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, evading arrest and detention, and making a terroristic threat against his wife.
Crowdis said Wise County is also preparing a case against Gee for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, which can possibly be enhanced under the domestic violence rules.
Seven officers arrived to arrest Gee, four from Springtown Police and three from Wise County Sheriff’s Office.
Gee was booked into the Parker County Jail around 5 p.m. Wednesday.
He has a prior charge of driving while intoxicated in Parker County dating back to 2001.
His bond has yet to be set for the current charges in Springtown. He remained incarcerated this morning.
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