20-hour manhunt

CRANE Crane County residents were still in shock Wednesday afternoon after word passed around the small town that a man had been killed, a woman assaulted and the suspect in both led law enforcement on a 20-hour manhunt across three counties.

Gillie Thomas Thurby Jr. was caught just before 2 p.m. Wednesday in Iraan, a Pecos County Sheriff's Office dispatcher said.

The daylong events, which included the stabbing and killing of a Crane man, assault of a 25-year-old Crane woman, theft of a vehicle, wrecking a police squad car and fleeing from law enforcement officials for nearly a whole day, left Crane resident Emily Barton concerned.

"What concerns me is that there wasn't any way to get the word out and let people know if there's a dangerous situation happening that people need to know about," said Barton, who lives down the street from one of the victims.

"I've always thought Crane was a safe place to live, but we just didn't know what was happening last night," she said Wednesday morning.

Barton said the city should set up an alarm like the one that warns Crane residents when bad weather's coming.

"I was thinking maybe we could set up another sort of alarm to let people know when there's another type of emergency," she said.

Fellow Crane resident Jimmy Heath said he didn't see any of the incidents take place but believes overall, the excitement was abnormal for community of 4,000 residents located 30 miles south of Odessa.

"This was a fluke," Heath said. "This is a small town, and things like this doesn't normally happen here."

DeLeon said Thurby was arrested Wednesday afternoon and charged with capital murder, aggravated assault on a public servant, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and assault.

Bond had not been set Wednesday.

WHAT HAPPENED?

Crane Police Chief Rick McCoy said in a news release that the events began at 1:54 a.m. Tuesday when a 25-year-old woman reported that she'd been assaulted in the 1100 block of Francis Street. She identified the suspect as Thurby.

Crane officers and deputies tried to find Thurby then but weren't successful. Arrest warrants were then issued for Thurby on two counts of felony assault, according to police reports.

"All I can say is that we're looking for him on two counts of assault," McCoy said early Wednesday by phone. Other charges came from the county.

Later that morning, about 10 a.m., the assault victim again called the Crane Police Department and said she believed Thurby was in her house again. The Crane PD, Crane County Sheriff's Office, and Crane County Constable Bud Taylor searched the home but didn't find the suspect.

Crane County Sheriff Robert DeLeon said in a separate news release that about 6:35 p.m. Tuesday, deputies responded to a 9-1-1 call that a man was holding a knife to someone's chest in the 1100 block of Southeast Second Street.

Crane police and sheriff's deputies responded and found Jorge Silva with a knife wound to his chest. Silva was taken to Medical Center Hospital where he later died. The victim was pronounced dead at 10:02 p.m. Tuesday at Medical Center Hospital by Dr. Craig Daniel.

According to sheriff's reports, Silva was able to tell deputies that he had came home and was attacked by the suspect.

Shortly after the stabbing, a search of the area began and deputies reported spotting Thurby driving a 2000 Red Dodge Intrepid, sheriff's reports said.

Sheriff's reports said the suspect rammed a patrol vehicle and a high-speed chase began. The pursuit went north on Highway 385, then the suspect crossed a median and traveled south back through town with officers following. The pursuit continued through Crane and south through McCamey, where Upton County deputies joined in the chase. It continued south through Pecos County, as well, where Pecos County deputies also joined in the chase.

Thurby eventually ran his vehicle off the road and traveled through the pasture at the intersection of Highways 305 and 190 in Pecos County, sheriff's reports said. Hours later, he was found in Iraan.

OA staff writer Jeff Tinnell contributed to this report.

WHO WAS INVOLVED?

>> Deputies, police and constables from Crane, Upton and Pecos counties along with Texas Department of Public Safety troopers, Texas Rangers, Border Patrol and officers and dogs from the Texas Department of Corrections.