Deputies arrest man after standoff

Donley County deputies subdued and arrested a Ft. Worth man last week after he assaulted a local family and then vowed he wouldn’t be taken alive during a 34-minute standoff with authorities.

Sheriff Butch Blackburn said 46-year-old George Wayne Weatherly was seen exiting the northeastern county residence of Larry and Alice Laroe on state highway 273 at about 3:20 p.m. last Thursday when the couple returned home.

The suspect carried something to a white GMC pickup, approached the couple’s vehicle, and asked them if they lived there, Blackburn said. The Laroes responded that they did, and the suspect then reportedly told them he had just robbed them.

Blackburn said Weatherly produced a hunting knife and tried to stab Mrs. Laroe, who was in the passenger’s seat. The couple rolled up their windows, backed away from the suspect, and drove to a nearby hill in order to get cell phone reception to call for help.

Constable Mike Wallendorff intercepted Weatherly on SH 273. The suspect then fled down County Road 27, which is a dead end. The constable stopped the suspect and held him at gunpoint until backup could arrive, the sheriff said. Chief Deputy Randy Bond and Deputy Mike Spier responded along with Department of Public Safety troopers Chris Ward, Tony Polito, and Sgt. Richard Gribble.

Bond reported the subject waved a knife and made aggressive moves directed toward the officers.

“He said he wouldn’t be taken alive and would kill anyone who got close to him,” Bond said.

The deputies loaded beanbag cartridges into their .12 gauge shotguns and disarmed the suspect after Bond shot him once in the torso and Spier shot him in the hand. Bond then subdued the suspect.

Weatherly was booked into the Donley County Jail, where he remained Monday afternoon under a combined bond of $1.4 million on charges of aggravated robbery and nine counts of aggravated assault.

“All the officers involved did a remarkable job handling this situation,” Sheriff Blackburn said. “This could have been very serious and could have resulted in the death of the subject if not for the experience and expertise of Deputies Bond and Spier.”

Earlier the same day, Weatherly had been released from the Childress County Jail and placed on probation related to a DWI charge, the sheriff said.