Jerry Etheredge couldn’t stay away, and it cost him his life.
Police fatally shot the Randall County man on Wednesday after he tailed his estranged wife, got into a brawl with her male companion and then refused officers’ orders to drop his weapon, authorities said. Etheredge, 56, died at 11:51 p.m. Wednesday after he was taken to the hospital, police said.
Nearly 20 minutes earlier, officers responded to a vandalism call to find two men on the ground, fighting for a gun.
Etheredge’s estranged wife and her companion were driving down Western Street and noticed one of the car’s tires had been punctured, Special Crimes Unit Lt. Erick Bohannon said.
The woman, 35, and her 32-year-old male companion pulled into a parking lot at 403 S. Western St. to change the tire. After following the pair down the street, Etheredge parked his own car behind hers and greeted the companion with a gun at the car door.
A scramble for the weapon ensued, and shots rang out, authorities said.
The woman had called 911 when Etheredge began following them, and she told dispatchers about the gunshots.
The two men were still wrestling for the gun when Officer Kirk Anderson arrived, police said. Anderson ordered Etheredge to drop the weapon, but he refused, police said. The companion pushed away from Etheredge, who then rolled toward Anderson, police said.
Police said Anderson fired at Etheredge several times, striking him at least once.
Potter County Justice of the Peace Thomas Jones has ordered an autopsy in Lubbock.
Bohannon said Anderson was placed on a standard three-day administrative leave, and the case will go to a grand jury.
Kendra Walker, who lives behind the Family Dollar at 511 S. Independence St., said she heard about four shots ring out Wednesday night.
According to county divorce records, Etheredge and the woman married in March 2009 and separated on July 26.
Misty King, a Randall County assistant district attorney, said Etheredge helped the woman move back into her mother’s house.
“He showed up and got angry because she was going out,” King said.
He chased her and her 13-year-old daughter in their sedan down rural roads, she said. The woman turned down a dead-end road, and he blocked her car with his pickup, King said. When she tried to leave, he rammed her car with his vehicle, she said.
The Randall County grand jury indicted Etheredge on two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
The day after the car incident, the estranged wife filed a restraining order that limited Etheredge from being within 500 yards of her. The estranged wife extended the order early last week, and Etheredge was scheduled to appear in court Monday to plead his case.
Etheredge filed for divorce Aug. 1 because of “discord or conflict of personalities,” according to his petition. He had been married at least once before, according to county marriage licenses.
Connie Carr, 32, lives next door to Etheredge and said she saw him leave his home at about 9:45 p.m. Wednesday.
Carr said she has known Etheredge for about five years, and that he and his estranged wife quarreled often.
“We had to call the police on them,” Carr said. “They’d be out there fighting in the middle of the yard.”
The estranged wife declined to comment.
Staff writers Russell Anglin and Joe Gamm contributed to this story.
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