Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 30, 1994 TAG: 9405020158
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By TODD JACKSON and DIANE STRUZZI STAFF WRITERS NOTE: above
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Hayes, 30, struggled with life. The last decade was the toughest. He battled alcoholism and emotional disorders that made him fear crowds and public places. His family and therapists say he was making progress.
But around 7 p.m. Thursday, Hayes - whose last words to his mother were that he loved her - opened fire on two Botetourt County deputies after robbing a convenience store. Deputies returned fire. He was killed by a gunshot to the chest.
Alcohol soothed Hayes' bouts with agoraphobia, according to court documents. But when he tried to seek help at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, he often had to leave because he had panic attacks.
Doctors prescribed a number of drugs to control his condition, but he didn't have enough money to buy the medication that worked best.
In a letter to the court April12, a social worker described Hayes as sober and learning to manage his panic attacks. The same day, his divorce from Janet Christine Hayes was finalized and she was granted custody of their 3-year-old daughter.
Hayes' life was a contradiction, according to family members. His last moments were no exception.
He had spent the day doing what he loved most - fishing along the riverbanks. Sandra Hayes knew her son planned to fish that day. The night before she made Kool-Aid for him to take along. But when he didn't come home by his usual 4 p.m., she said, she got worried.
About 6 p.m., he drove up to his parents' white farmhouse in Nace and stumbled out of his car. He had been drinking and was incoherent.
"I had to tell him who I was," said Sandra Hayes. "He was kind of rough with me."
Darrell Hayes then took an assault rifle from his father's locked gun cabinet, shot a hole in the floor and fled in his car. His mother called the sheriff's office, saying she was afraid he would hurt himself.
Botetourt County Sheriff Reed Kelly knew Hayes and knew he was plagued by emotional instability. He had been arrested before - in September for public drunkenness and in August for assaulting a police officer.
At 6:20 p.m. Thursday, a convenience store near Buchanan reported an armed robbery in progress. Witnesses identified Hayes as the robber. He had filled his car with $10.05 worth of gas and held two store clerks at gunpoint as he stole a 12-pack of Coors Light.
Within moments after driving away, deputies said, Hayes had rear-ended a motorist on U.S. 11 and engaged them in a chase that ended when he wrecked his car on a back road at Virginia 608 near Arcadia.
Cpl. Eddie Clark, who several months earlier had arrested Hayes for assaulting an officer, told him to throw out his gun. Hayes threw out a flashlight instead. Then he took the rifle from the front seat and shot at least nine rounds at Clark and Deputy L.W. Bennett.
Neither deputy was seriously injured. Hayes was shot dead, the rifle by his side, a semiautomatic pistol tucked in his pocket and a fishing pole in the back seat.
"He put them in a position where they didn't have a choice," Kelly said. "It's every cop's worst nightmare, where they have no alternative but to start shooting."
State police are investigating the incident at Kelly's request. Lt. Lee Bradley said the results would be turned over to Botetourt County Commonwealth's Attorney Rob Hagan next week.
Sandra Hayes said she holds no animosity toward the deputies. They were just doing their job, she said.
Late Friday, family members gathered in the Hayes' farmhouse, atop a hill across from Camp Bethel. Hayes had lived there with his parents since August.
"He was a happy-go-lucky fisherman," his mother said. "He loved the outdoors. He could get out there in the open - there were no pressures."
by CNB