Handcuffed Tulsa-area man is shot dead by Mayes County officer
BY RHETT MORGAN World Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
1/30/13 at 10:07 AM
PRYOR - The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is looking into an officer-involved shooting that left a Tulsa- area man dead early Tuesday at a Pryor motel.
William Joseph Perneau, 29, was shot about 2 a.m. at the Days Inn after he failed to comply with commands of a Mayes County deputy and an off-duty Salina police officer who was riding with the deputy, OSBI spokeswoman Jessica Brown said.
The officers went to the motel room based on information gleaned during a traffic stop. A K-9 dog reportedly alerted on the vehicle that was pulled over, indicating the presence of drugs. Two people in the vehicle were arrested, officials said, and one of them said they were going to the motel to meet someone.
After the K-9 dog alerted outside the motel room, officers entered and found Perneau and a woman. The woman was secured by the deputy, Sheriff Mike Reed said. Perneau failed to obey commands and was taken to the ground and handcuffed, Reed said.
"The cuffed person somehow managed to get a firearm somewhere in a waistband, rolled over, from what we understand, and shot at the officers," he said.
The police officer returned fire, killing Perneau, Reed said.
The woman, who was not arrested, confirmed that version of the shooting.
No one else was injured, the sheriff said.
"Just because you have cuffs on, you can get a gun out if it's back there in the back," said Reed, a certified firearms instructor.
The officers involved in the shooting, whose names weren't released, have been placed on routine paid administrative leave pending the results of an investigation, Reed said.
Janice Steidley, the district attorney for Mayes, Rogers and Craig counties, will determine whether the shooting was justified.
Perneau was convicted in June 2008 in Tulsa County of possession of a controlled drug and unlawfully carrying a weapon, records indicate.
That same year in Wagoner County, he pleaded guilty to using a vehicle to facilitate the discharging of a firearm and conspiracy to commit a felony.
With regard to the traffic stop, Carl Don Thomas, 26, of Pryor and Robert William Rowbotham, 41, of Locust Grove were booked into the Mayes County Jail on complaints of possession of a controlled dangerous substance with an intent to distribute.
Thomas has drug-related convictions in Mayes County, where Rowbotham has drug and assault convictions, records show.
Original Print Headline: Handcuffed man is shot dead by officer
Rhett Morgan 918-581-8395
rhett.morgan@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
William Joseph Perneau: According to the OSBI, Perneau refused to obey officers cammands and was handcuffed. While handcuffed, he pulled a gun and shot at officers, they said. A police officer returned fire, killing Perneau, 29.
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