Abbeville standoff ends with deputy, constable dead
Posted Tuesday, December 9, 2003 - 12:17 am
By April M. Silvaggio, Anna Brutzman and Owen Riley Jr.
STAFF WRITERS
asilvagg@greenvillenews.com ABBEVILLE — Scores of law officers unleashed a barrage of gunfire and gas Monday night at a house in an effort to overwhelm two men after a deputy was taken hostage and a constable was fatally shot in the front yard earlier in the day.
Before midnight, two men inside the house had surrendered and were taken into custody, one of them wounded, authorities said.
Deputy Daniel Wilson was found dead inside the house, which authorities were searching for weapons and booby traps.
Donnie M. Ouzts, 63, who apparently had rushed to try to aid the deputy as the standoff began about 9 a.m., was shot to death about 25 yards from the front door of the residence, Abbeville County Coroner Ronnie Ashley said.
Abbeville County Sheriff Charles Goodwin said they had had no contact with Wilson since the beginning of the incident, which authorities said involved a dispute between the resident of the house and the highway department over a strip of land needed to widen the road.
Officers rushed the house about 8:30 p.m. A flash appeared in the front yard, flashlight beams waved in the smoke. The sound of rapid gunfire tore through the air.
Steve Bixby, in 30s, surrendered a short while later, authorities said.
Arthur Bixby, in his 70s, who was wounded, surrendered later after additional exchanges of gunfire, authorities said. He was being taken to a hospital.
No other injuries were reported, according to authorities, who said they faced semi-automatic, high-powered gunfire from inside the house.
Authorities said they also went to a nearby apartment complex, where relatives had threatened to open fire. Authorities said they took a relative into custody.
They said they seized anti-government literature.
The siege at the house occurred in a neighborhood of houses and businesses near the intersection of State 72 and Union Church Road, about 40 miles south of Greenville.
Officers standing next to patrol cars with blue lights flashing kept the public about 300 yards away. More than half a mile of State 72 was blocked off. The high-traffic road connects Abbeville to the Georgia state line.
Ouzts' body was recovered after a state trooper used his patrol cruiser as a shield to block any gunfire that might come from the house, said Sid Gaulden, spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety.
Lance Cpl. Steve Sluder said when he arrived at the scene he could see the constable lying on the ground.
"I pretty much made a mad dash and grabbed him," he said.
Deputies tried to contact the gunmen by phone, but no one answered, Goodwin said. About 4 p.m., a deputy tried with a megaphone.
"We don't want anybody else to get hurt," the deputy said. "If you're alive, come to the door."
The State Law Enforcement Division's SWAT Team was requested shortly after 10 a.m., said SLED spokeswoman Kathryn Richardson called "an active situation."
An estimated 200 officers from the Abbeville Police Department, the Abbeville County Sheriff's Office, the Greenwood County Sheriff's Office, SLED, the South Carolina Highway Patrol and the state Department of Natural Resources Division responded.
SLED brought in at least two robots, along with an armored vehicle.
Helicopters from several law enforcement agencies whirled overhead.
An autopsy was scheduled on Ouzts at Anderson Regional Medical Center to determine the exact cause of his death, Ashley said. Ouzts worked as a constable for Abbeville County Magistrate Tommy Ferguson.
Magistrate's constables are appointed by local magistrates to serve civil court papers. They have the same authority as a sheriff's deputy.
Staff writer Paul Alongi contributed to this article.
Tuesday