West Virginia police went searching for a man believed to have shot his father to death over the weekend, only to find him already in jail after he took off all his clothes at a casino and confronted officers working security.
According to a criminal complaint, Thomas Lawson Sr. left his home about 2 p.m. on Saturday to help his son, 33-year-old Thomas Lawson Jr., cut trees blocking his driveway but never returned, WCHS reported. Lawson Sr.’s wife contacted a family member later in the day, and that family member called the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office around 10:30 p.m.
Deputies arrived at the younger Lawson’s home at about 2 a.m. Sunday — the document did not say why they waited more than three hours to follow up on the 911 call — and found the elder Lawson dead near the home, his chainsaw at his feet. He had been shot at least six times in the back and head.
Lawson Sr. had a gun in his pocket, but it had not been fired.
Lawson Jr. was not at home, and his truck was missing.
Lawson Sr.’s wife told investigators that the father and son had been involved in prior altercations that had turned physical.
“Mrs. Lawson advised deputies that Mr. Lawson Sr. was afraid of his son and was ‘just trying to be a good dad,’” the complaint states. She also told investigators the two had been involved in prior incidents that became physical.
She also said that shortly after her husband left home, she heard what sounded like her son’s truck traveling down the road.
Investigators soon learned, but didn’t say how, that Lawson Jr. was believed to be heading to the Mardi Gras Casino and Resort about 100 miles away in Nitro to feed his severe gambling addiction.
McDowell County authorities contacted authorities in Kanawha County, where Nitro is located, to be on the lookout for their suspect only to learn that he was already behind bars.
“Metro Communications, which is our dispatcher, had received information from McDowell County and wanted us to actually look at the casino for this suspect. But by the time we were notified, he was already in custody,” Justin Raynes of the Nitro Police Department said, according to WSAZ.
Nitro police said that Lawson Jr. arrived at the casino at about 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, WCHS reported. Hours later, at about 1 a.m., he went to a restroom at the casino, where he removed his clothing and came back out wearing only a hat and shoes. He aproached Nitro police officers working security, made an obscene gesture, shouted an obscenity, and tried to flee. After a short foot pursuit, he was tackled and taken into custody.
“He had approached them nude and obviously said some derogatory things and then fled from our officers,” Raynes said.
He was charged with indecent exposure after that arrest and first degree murder for his father’s death after police found text messages between the two men arranging for Lawson Sr. to come help with the trees.
Lawson Jr. is being held without bond at the South Central Regional Jail.
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[Featured image: Thomas Lawson Jr/West Virginia Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation]