ROWAN COUNTY, N.C. — A man who allegedly left a Cabarrus County Court appearance on Friday during a court break was shot and killed by deputies on Tuesday in Rowan County.
36-year-old Kenneth Vickers was convicted of six counts of statutory sex offense and six counts of indecent liberties on May 24. He was out on bond, but authorities said when the court took a break, he didn't return to the courtroom.
In turn, Cabarrus County Sheriff's deputies went to arrest him in the 4800 block of Old Concord Road, which is located east of Interstate 85 in the Correll Park neighborhood of Salisbury. Rowan County Sheriff's Office came to help with the arrest.
When they arrived, deputies said they found Vickers in a shed next to a home.
"Vickers fired a handgun at the deputies at which time they returned fire," authorities state.
Vickers died at the scene. No deputies were injured during the shooting. Rowan County deputies were the ones reportedly involved in the shooting, not the Cabarrus County deputies.
WCNC Charlotte spoke with two family members who are close to the case where Vickers was found guilty. They said they were in the courtroom when authorities realized Vickers left.
The incident is stirring up a mix of emotions for Robert Sells, who wanted justice in Vickers’ case. He claimed Vickers used to be married to his daughter.
"They had split up about three years ago when all this child molestation stuff came out, and then they just went to court this week," Sells explained.
While Sells was saddened by the shootout, he said he wasn't surprised. "[Vickers] said he wasn’t going to jail, and we expected something like this to happen," said Sells.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations is investigating the shooting, which is standard when a law enforcement officer shoots and kills someone.
In just the last month, WCNC Charlotte found at least seven officer-involved shootings have happened in the Charlotte area, five of which were deadly.
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