POLICE KILL GUNMAN IN SIEGE
SEX OFFENDER IS SHOT DEAD AFTER HE SLAYS HIS FATHER

By Darrell Glover P-I Reporter

Thursday, May 4, 1995

Section: News, Page: A1

A convicted sex offender who shot his father to death and then threatened to shoot his mother yesterday was killed by a Snohomish County sheriff's deputy when he charged out of a cabin carrying a shotgun, authorities said.

Nolan Lee Davis, 38, was shot twice in the head by a sheriff's SWAT team member after a 2 1/2-hour standoff behind his parents' home north of here.

``He came out armed and aggressive," said Sheriff Patrick Murphy. Davis was clad in military fatigues, Murphy said.

All told, three shots were fired in the standoff, according to Murphy. It had not been determined last night whether Davis had fired any rounds at officers, but Murphy said deputies at the scene could account for all their ammunition.

Bob Davis, 72, was shot in the head and abdomen while he slept on a couch in the living room of his home, Murphy said.

The reason for the shooting, which occurred in the 30700 block of 68th Avenue Northwest, was not known last night.

After killing his father, the son then threatened to kill his mother, Barbara, who had been asleep in a bedroom, Murphy said.

`` `You are next,' " Davis reportedly said to his mother, according to Murphy.

But Barbara Davismanaged to hide inside the house, and around 5:30 a.m. she called 911, according to Murphy. This was roughly thirty minutes after her husband was shot, Murphy said... During this time, Davis left the house.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Jan Jorgensen said Davis and his parents had a history of not getting along.

``The father just didn't believe he would harm his own parents even though there have been numerous threats," Jorgensen said neighbors told her.

Yesterday, shortly after Barbara Davis' call to 911, about a dozen SWAT team members, a helicopter and an Everett police K-9 unit searched the Davis property and nearby woods for Nolan Davis.

In addition to the house and the cabin where Davis lived, there are several outbuildings on the property. Deputies searched the home and outbuildings before, around 9:30 a.m., they located Davis in his own cabin.

Officers threw him a phone, and SWAT team negotiators tried to talk him into surrendering. But negotiations were unsuccessful, and at 12:05 p.m. Davis charged out of the cabin and was shot, Murphy said.

Davis had been diagnosed by prison doctors with disorders of pedophilia, depression, being delusional and having a schizoid personality, according to Stanwood police.

Davis was convicted of indecent liberties with a 12-year-old boy in 1980 in Skagit County, and spent more than nine years in prison, said Jorgensen, the sheriff's spokeswoman.

Davis served time in a number of state institutions, including the Shelton Corrections Center, McNeil Island Penitentiary and the Special Offender Center for mentally ill offenders at the Monroe Reformatory, said Barbara Kerns, community corrections supervisor with the state Department of Corrections office in Everett.

Most of his time was spent at Shelton, in the resident population or in intensive management, Kerns said, ``either because he was a danger to others in the population or because he was in danger from some unknown person in the population."

Davis had been living in the cabin about 350 feet behind his parents' home for several years.

He was widely feared in the rural community. Neighbors said that within the past 10 days, he had threatened to kill his parents or have them killed.

``They had the sheriff over here about 10 days ago," said Elmer Norgaard, a longtime friend of the Davis family. Norgaard said Davis had asked a relative to shoot his parents for him.

Norgaard said that after Davis got out of prison, he seemed to have ``a chip on his shoulder."

Norgaard said that while the whole neighborhood was relieved yesterday, ``It's too bad they had to let it go this long before something had to happen."

Another neighbor, who didn't want to be identified, said ``Good, amen," when told Nolan Davis had been killed.

Chris Brooks, 24, who lives down the road from the Davis home, said having a convicted sex offender living in the neighborhood was ``scary. It really creates a lot of tension."

Lorraine Clark, Davis' sister, arrived at the scene while deputies were negotiating with her brother to surrender.

``I have no idea what the problem was" between her brother and parents, Clark said. She said the death of her father hadn't ``hit me yet. I believe in God and God will take care of it." She said she loved her brother, then drove away.

After his release from prison in 1991, Darrington police issued a bulletin that Davis wanted to buy a home in the area, said Kerns, the community corrections supervisor. But instead, he moved to his parents' home near Stanwood. Police there notified residents and circulated a bulletin which said in part:

Davis ``has sought out young boys, sometimes in a church setting, and sexually violated them."

The bulletin also said that Davis had refused treatment while in prison and that his future behavior was unpredictable.

Kati Garner, a reporter for the Stanwood-Camano Island News, said, ``It really scared everybody that he was roaming around free. There has been a lot of fear about him."

Court records show Davis was convicted in 1993 of assault and attempting to elude police. Specifics of the case were not available.

Dave Pinkham, the editor and publisher of the Stanwood newspaper, said Davis was regarded in the community as ``mentally unstable, dangerous."

Norgaard and his wife, Gladys, knew Davis all his life. Davis used to pick strawberries for them. They described him as a loner. Murphy said sheriff's detectives, Everett police and investigators from the state crime laboratory are investigating the shootings.

The name of the deputy who shot Davis wasn't released. Murphy said a review board would be convened to investigate the incident, a standard procedure in shootings involving an officer.

P-I Reporter Arthur C. Gorlick contributed to this report.

This article contained at least one photo or illustration as described below:

Type: Map

Description: P-I: Shooting site

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