Police Chief's Slayer Gets Life
DJ
Friday, September 20, 2002
BY MATT CANHAM
THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
Family members of murdered Roosevelt Police Chief Cecil Gurr were relieved
to hear killer Lee Roy Wood will never get out of prison.
But they also expressed frustration that a recent U.S. Supreme Court
decision allowed Wood to make a deal that spared his life.
Wood, 36, pleaded guilty Thursday to capital murder and two counts of
attempted aggravated murder in 8th District Court in Vernal. Judge Lynn Payne
sentenced Wood to life in prison without the possibility of parole for killing
Gurr and two consecutive sentences of 5 years to life for attempting to kill
officers Henry McKenna and Lance Williamson.
"He will get his just reward in heaven, but I think it is a shame that he
won't get it here on earth," said Lynette Gurr, the police chief's widow.
Prosecutors offered the plea agreement in reaction to the recent high court
ruling that the mentally retarded cannot be put to death when convicted of
capital crimes. Wood's defense attorneys argue that he has a diminished mental
capacity, and for a jury to weigh the evidence fairly a trial would have to
occur after the Utah Legislature creates a legal definition of mental
retardation, which is expected next winter.
Gurr, who served as the Roosevelt police chief in Duchesne County for 23
years, died of a gunshot wound on July 6, 2001, in the parking lot of a
convenience store just over the county line in Uintah County.
Earlier, Wood had forced his girlfriend into his truck to go to Salt Lake
City to settle a drug dispute.
When they stopped at the convenience store, a clerk called police after
seeing Wood threaten the woman with a rifle.
McKenna pulled his squad car in front of Wood's truck, and Wood tried to
shoot him with an unloaded rifle. Wood loaded the weapon and then fired it five
times at Gurr. Gurr is the first Roosevelt officer to be killed on the job.
Wood has remained in Uintah County Jail since McKenna took him into custody.
During Thursday's noontime proceeding, Wood apologized to the Gurrs,
saying: "I'm sorry. If I could bring him back I would."
Family members responded to the apology with skepticism, saying Wood most
likely felt bad not for what he did but because he got caught.
"I don't need his apology," Lynette Gurr said.
The family was grateful to see an end to the extensive court proceedings.
"We are ready to have this over and be able to move on with our lives," said
Dax Gurr, Cecil Gurr's son.
Seeing the man who killed his mentor and who attempted to kill him was
difficult, McĀKenna said. McKenna knew Gurr since he was a child and worked for
him for eight months. He was in his first week of full-time police work when
the murder occurred. h County Jail since McKenna took him into custody.
Steve Hooley succeeded Gurr as police chief and said his staff of 14
responded to the sentence with a sense of relief. "Our concern was keeping
[Wood] out of society," he said.
Hooley described Gurr as a strong leader who showed everybody respect.
Gurr's daughter Shallon said he never wanted attention and helped others
because it was the right thing to do, something she now recognizes in the other
Roosevelt police officers.
"Their performance on the job is a compliment to him as well," she said.
http://www.sltrib.com/09202002/utah/183030.htm
"The gravest abuse of power - and the gravest threats to personal liberty and
security - are those in which the very individuals to whom we look for the
preservation of law and order turn out to be the predators."