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WOOD COUNTY, TX (KLTV) - A Wood County DPS trooper remains hospitalized, Monday night, after being shot in the face. Timothy Parmer, 45, now faces attempted murder charges for allegedly shooting Trooper Larry Vaughn in the face.
Monday night, Vaughn was still in critical condition, but doing well. Meanwhile, the investigation continues.
"He's mentally ill...he's schizophrenic," said Myra Woo-Belcher, Timothy Parmer's common-law wife.
Belcher said Parmer was high on meth when he shot Trooper Larry Vaughn in the face.
She said she'd seen law enforcement officers outside her home earlier that night. "I was just hoping I could get all hide all of the guns before [the deputies] did anything," she said.
Belcher said she first met Parmer eight years ago. She described him as kind, sweet and caring. "I thought I'd found my perfect man," she explained.
Belcher alleges that several years ago, a group of young kids got Parmer hooked on meth. Since then, he has lashed out at her, several times. She said he recently chased her around the house with a hatchet. She admitted his bizarre behavior led her to seek help last night.
"He took a hammer to the stove, and my cupboards." So Belcher called Parmer's parents.
Lieutenant Jerry Blaylock said the Wood County Sheriff's Department later responded to a 9-1-1 call from one of Parmer's relatives.
"He had made the comment that he didn't want anyone on his property and that he might shoot anyone that come on the property," said Blaylock.
Blaylock said Trooper Vaughn was helping serve an outstanding warrant for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon at the time of the shooting.
"He started to step out of the house, saw that there were officers there, stepped back in, and barricaded himself," said Trooper Sylvia Jennings with the Department of Public Safety.
Moments later, authorities say Parmer fired one shot through the kitchen window, striking Trooper Vaughn. A Wood County deputy returned fire, and Parmer surrendered.
Blaylock called Vaughn an "outstanding officer" and said that he was "always there, backing up anyone that needed help."
"We're just happy that he's doing good," said Jennings.
"I'm sorry for the officer and his family," Belcher said. "I just wish it would have been me instead of him."
Trooper Larry Vaughn has been with DPS for more than 30 years. He has been stationed in Quitman since 1981.
At this time, no bond has been set for Timothy Parmer's attempted capital murder charge.
