ST. JOSEPH, Mich. – The ex-wife of a western Michigan inmate authorities say shot and killed two bailiffs in an attempt to escape tells a television station that she spoke with him Sunday and had no indication he was planning an attack.
Jessica Gordon tells WOOD-TV that her ex-husband, Larry Darnell Gordon, was "an amazing man that got mixed up with the wrong people."
Authorities say Gordon was being taken from a holding cell to a court hearing when he grabbed a deputy's gun during a scuffle. He shot and killed two bailiffs, and wounded the deputy and a civilian woman.
Other officers then shot and killed Gordon.
Jessica Gordon said he was probably afraid of going to prison.
"I believe he was terrified of never seeing his daughter or me, his other five children," she said.
The two were married for 19 years before divorcing earlier this year.
"I don't believe that he meant to hurt anybody. He just wanted to come home," Jessica Gordon said.
Gordon was in jail on two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, according to Michigan State Police records show. He was also facing charges of kidnapping, assault with a dangerous weapon, and domestic violence.