Police shoot man hiding in closet

Linda Connot described her estranged husband as controlling, vindictive and prone to get even with anyone he believed wronged him.

That was what she said in court documents — after Gary Connot broke into the house where his wife lives, put a handgun to her face and threatened to kill her nearly nine months ago.

Early Tuesday, a police officer in Valentine, Neb., shot and killed Gary Connot as he was hiding in a closet in the house. Connot pointed a gun at officers, and one policeman fired, authorities said.

Connot, 56, raised cattle and operated an auction company in this north-central Nebraska county seat known for ranching and recreation. He spent more than four months of this year in jail awaiting court proceedings on charges for terrorizing his wife and a later arrest for an incident not involving his wife.

A judge in May ordered Connot to stay away from his wife, who was seeking a divorce.

Cherry County Attorney Eric Scott gave this account of Tuesday's incident:

At 4 a.m., a 911 caller from Linda Connot's house reported hearing a noise from a closet in a front spare bedroom. Officers arrived and found Gary Connot asleep in the closet.

The officers ordered Connot to come out.

“He pulled out a gun and raised it at the officers,'' Scott said. “One of the officers fired, striking Connot.''

Authorities did not name the officer who fired the shot.

Connot was taken to Cherry County Hospital in Valentine, where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy was scheduled.

The Nebraska State Patrol is investigating the death. A special prosecutor will be named in the case, Scott said. Nebraska law requires a grand jury be convened any time a person dies while in police custody or in the process of apprehension.

Connot grew up on a ranch east of Valentine, near Sparks. He and Linda married in Winner, S.D., in 1976. Their four daughters are grown. Linda Connot is a secretary at the Sheriff's Office. She also worked as a clerk for the auction company.

Linda Connot filed for divorce in December 2008. She also obtained a court order banning her husband from their home.

About six weeks later, someone notified police that Gary Connot had been seen hiding outside his wife's house after 10 p.m. one January night, according to court documents. Police officers stopped Gary Connot as he drove away from the area and warned him to stay away.

Shortly after 3:30 a.m. the same night, officers noticed lights on in the house and saw Gary Connot holding his wife in a living room chair. She eventually managed to flee, and Gary Connot walked out and surrendered, according to court documents.

Authorities said Linda Connot had awakened at 12:45 a.m. that morning to find her husband standing over her bed with two handguns. She told police her husband said he was obsessed with fixing their marriage. He became disturbed when she said it could not be fixed.

At one point, Connot pushed his wife onto the bed and told her “there's going to be a murder-suicide tonight,” according to court documents. He tried to put the barrel of an ivory-handled pistol in her mouth.

Connot was arrested that morning and jailed in adjoining Brown County until April 24, when he was released on bail. Linda Connot received a domestic abuse restraining order against her husband the next month and moved ahead with plans to auction the couple's cattle, machinery and land in October and November.

In July, Gary Connot was found guilty of using a deadly weapon to commit a felony, terroristic threats and false imprisonment in the January incident. He was free on bail and was to be sentenced next month.

Contact the writer:

444-1127, david.hendee@owh.com