Man making threats ends without injuries, officers say

The following are excerpts from reports recently generated by the Texas County Sheriff’s Department:

•A deputy responded Jan. 7 regarding a report of burglary and theft at a Highway 137 property at Raymondville.

The officer made contact with a 61-year-old man there who said a building he owns on the property had been broken into, and several items with a total value of $6,160 had been stolen.

The deputy observed a padlock that had been cut on a side door of the building. There are no suspects.

•A deputy was contacted on Jan. 3 by a representative of Texas County Public Water Supply District 4 in Licking regarding a man who had repeatedly tampered with water pipes leading to a residence on Reed Road.

The officer was informed that water district workers had gone to the home on Jan. 3 and dug to a pipe that had burst during a recent stretch of extremely cold temperatures. The officer was told that the workers had discovered a “cheater pipe” that had been installed to bypass the water district’s pipe.

A water district representative told the deputy that there had been two prior incidents involving the 58-year-old man who is the tenant of the residence. A probable cause statement was sent to the county prosecutor seeking charges against him.

•A deputy responded Dec. 26 to a report of a suicidal man at a King Road residence in Mountain Grove.

Upon arrival, the officer made contact with a 70-year-old woman and 57-year-old woman who said the man, 61, believed demons were inside him, and that for about a week he hadn’t slept or eaten or drank anything.

The officer made contact with the man in the living room of the home, and he reportedly brandished a screwdriver and advanced toward the officer. After being told to stop, the man quit advancing but continued to brandish the tool.

The man then reportedly said he had to die due to the demons in him, and he dropped the screwdriver and moved to the other end of the room. The officer then observed the man point a pistol toward his own chin. The deputy gave him multiple commands to drop the gun, but the man instead pointed it toward the officer.

The deputy and another on the scene took cover, and told other people at the location to do the same.

Other deputies arrived to assist, but the man eventually walked onto the front porch with his hands up and surrendered.

The man was then taken to Texas County Memorial Hospital, where medical staff requested assistance with changing his clothes since he was not being compliant. While several deputies helped get him changed into hospital-issued clothing, the man grabbed an officer’s pistol and tried to remove it from its holster.

The man was then restrained and handcuffed. He was eventually transported to Harry S Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital in Columbia on a 96-hour detention, evaluation and treatment warrant.