Emotions ran high during the second day of arguments in the capital murder trial of Randall Wayne Mays with the viewing of a video and autopsy photos.
The day began with testimony from Henderson County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Billy Jack Valentine — among the first officers dispatched to a domestic violence call at Mays’ residence in Payne Springs on May 17, 2007. It was on that day that 61-year-old Tony Ogburn and 63-year-old Investigator Paul Habelt were shot and killed.
If convicted Mays could receive life in prison or the death penalty.
He pleaded not guilty on Monday.
Valentine — who was trapped between the windows from which Mays was shooting — said he heard the last shot from the window on his left side.
“I heard a thump (after the gunshot), looked back, and saw red in the air around my car and a cowboy hat flying,” he said.
The hat belonged to Ogburn.
“I started crying,” Valentine said while fighting tears on the stand.
He then heard a fellow officer, Kevin Hanes, yell for him to run for cover behind a shed on the property, he said.
“Paul was looking over the top of a truck telling me which way to go,” he said, “and then he gets shot.”
In an hour-long dashboard video shown to the jury Tuesday, Valentine can be heard sobbing loudly over the deaths of his colleagues.
The video — which doesn’t show much, but provides audio of the incident — left many people in the courtroom in tears.
Valentine can be heard in the video talking to both Mays and his wife, Candace. Candace Mays can be heard yelling at Valentine and saying he is not needed.
Deputies Eric Ward and Dwayne Sanders arrived near the same time as Valentine. Sanders drove to a neighbor of Mays who had called in the disturbance to the sheriff’s department.
During this time, Mays is heard on the tape telling Valentine his wife was sexually attacked and that she needed some help. Valentine then called Sanders, who told him the neighbors would press charges if Mays was arrested.
Valentine walked over to Mays and said, “Don’t make this any harder than it’s gonna be.”
“His face changed,” Valentine testified, “and he started backing away.”
According to Valentine, Mays ran toward the house, but Valentine grabbed his shirt.
“He began slashing at me with a knife and the shirt ripped,” Valentine said.
Ward, who was also at the scene, told the jury he did not remember seeing Mays with a knife.
Defense lawyer Bobby Mims of Tyler questioned both Hanes and Ward about training for police officers in a crisis situation. He also pointed out officers had attended a crisis intervention training on May 7, 2007 — 10 days before the shooting.
When Hanes arrived at the scene he said he saw Mays standing outside his house talking to Deputy Kevin Harris.
Hanes said he observed Valentine slowly moving toward Mays.
“It appeared to me that he was trying to get between Mays and the open window,” he said.
Mays looked back at Valentine, turned and jumped head-first into the window he had crawled out of minutes earlier.
Mims asked Hanes if the incident would have had a different ending if Valentine hadn’t tried to approach Mays.
“I don’t see anything law enforcement did wrong,” he said. “The last thing you want to have happen is for them to have access to the weapons.”
Arguments are scheduled to continue Wednesday morning at 9 a.m.
Homepage
Jurors view dramatic shootout video
Killings not seen, but audio stirs emotions at Mays trial
- In the News
-
-
200-year-old shipwreck found in Gulf of Mexico
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — An oil company exploration crew's chance discovery of a 200-year-old shipwreck in a little-charted stretch of the Gulf of Mexico is yielding a trove of new information to scientists who say it's one of the most well-preserved old wrecks ever found in the Gulf.
-
200-year-old shipwreck found in Gulf of Mexico
- Local News
-
-
Tool mayor resigns, then rescinds resignation
Tool Mayor Leland Pitts resigned Thursday night. Before the council could officially accept his resignation, Pitts rescinded the resignation.
Pitts, who has been on the Tool Council for 12 years, off and on, explained to the citizens why he was considering resigning as Mayor. - Preparing for the Extreme Mustang Makeover
- Log Cabin man sentenced to 99 years for 12th DWI
- Balloons released for Nursing Home Week
- Remembering his father
-
- Sports
-
-
BRETT HOFFMAN: Pair share Bucking Battle victory
Former Professional Bull Riders World Finals qualifier Stormy Wing of Dalhart and 2010 world champion Renato Nunes each turned in a score of 92 and tied for the win in the PBR 15/15 Bucking Battle.
- Thrice as nice
- HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL: End of the line
- 5/19 Camps Calendar
- HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL: One for the birds
-
- Opinion
-
-
One spoken line about alcohol use led to GBC mayor victory
The residents of Gun Barrel City and their neighbors are now going to drink until 2 a.m. on weekends, if they so choose.
And they have so chosen with last Saturday's election, which extends drinking hours in some establishments in that community. - May 17, 2007: a day in Henderson County like no other
- Mothers are the glue that holds it all together
- It’s the day to celebrate what our mothers mean to us
- The old time satellite dish was so much fun, they ruined it
-


