Troopers kills Oklahoma fugitive in gunbattle

OKLAHOMA CITY — A fierce gunbattle with Oklahoma troopers left a homicide fugitive dead and ended a weeklong manhunt for the man suspected in a string of violent crimes across the state, including the killings of two relatives and the shooting s of three law enforcement officers.

After a tip from a farmer led authorities Sunday to a camp site near Hammon in western Oklahoma, the manhunt intensified for Michael Dale Vance Jr., who had posted two Facebook Live videos on Oct. 24 during his run from police, said Highway Patrol Capt. Paul Timmons.

Several troopers were chasing Vance, who was driving a stolen flatbed pickup truck, when the vehicle went off the road near Leedey, 130 miles northwest of Oklahoma City and 45 miles north of where he was last seen a week earlier.

Earlier Sunday, Vance shot and wounded Dewey County Sheriff Clay Sander after Sander stopped a pickup truck to warn the driver about a chain dragging behind it.

“The driver of the truck stopped and exited the vehicle, shooting an assault rifle,” said Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Jessica Brown.