East Texas Deputy Killer Lost Appeal
Posted/updated on: October 18, 2011 at 12:15 pm
HOUSTON (AP) – An East Texas man sent to death row for a shootout that left two sheriff’s deputies dead and a third wounded has lost an appeal at the U.S. Supreme Court. The justices Monday refused to review a petition from 52-year-old Randall Wayne Mays. The former welder and oilfield worker was condemned for fatally shooting Henderson County Sheriff’s Deputy Tony Ogburn in 2007. Another deputy, Paul Habelt, also was killed.
The deputies responded to a call of gunshots on Mays’ property in Payne Springs. After appearing to cooperate, Mays barricaded himself in his house and opened fire with a high-powered rifle. An attorney argued Mays had poor legal help and was mentally impaired. Mays does not have an execution date and has other appeals.
