from the coalfield progress

SANDLICK - After being shot in the leg and scared that he and his wife would would be killed by the two men who had held them hostage for two hours as they ransacked their home, Clyde Colley decided to defend his life and home, investigators say.
Now, one Kentucky man is dead and another is in jail on a long list of charges. Colley, 84, is in Dickenson Community Hospital recovering from the gunshot wound.

At about 8:40 p.m. on Dec. 14, a caller reported to 911 dispatch that a man had been shot at the Colley residence. Dickenson County sheriff's deputies were sent to the home on Route 80 between Haysi High School and Birchleaf.

When officers Scottie Owens and Brett Stallard arrived at the Colley home, they found Hubert Howard Jr., 39, of Letcher County, Ky., dead from a gunshot wound to the head. Police say the shot was fired from a .38-caliber special that belongs to Colley.

Colley was also wounded, suffering a shot to his calf from a .25 caliber gun allegedly fired by one of the intruders. The man accused of shooting Colley, 24-year-old Mazel Sexton, also of Letcher County, had fled the home but was later arrested by local authorities in Kentucky, according to sheriff's investigator John Hall.

Sexton is charged with two counts of robbery, two counts of abduction, two counts of burglary, maliciously shooting with intent to kill, use of a firearm while committing a felony and unlawfully shooting Colley in the commission of a felony.

No charges were filed against Colley.

Police won't say what might have led the two Kentucky men to the Colley home that night, but believe the burglary was planned.

Mrs. Colley answered a knock on her door that night to find Sexton standing outside it, said Hall. After showing her the gun he carried, Sexton allegedly forced his way into the home, then used a walkie-talkie to notify Howard he was inside.

Mrs. Colley told police Sexton was wearing a toboggan when she answered the door. When he entered the home, however, he pulled it over his face and she saw it was actually a ski mask. Hall said Howard then entered the home, his face also covered by a ski mask, and began ordering the Colleys around, telling them to get on the floor.

During their ordeal, the elderly couple was reportedly held at gun point by one of the intruders while the other went through their home and vandalized it. At some point during the vandalism, Sexton allegedly shot Mr. Colley.

Hall said Mr. Colley told investigators later that he knew he and his wife were in grave danger, and he also knew where he could get to a gun in his home.

So he told the intruders he wasn't feeling well and needed to sit down. The elderly man was then able to get to his gun and fired a shot at Howard, said Hall. That shot missed, so Colley fired again, this time wounding Howard, according to Hall.

Police say Sexton then fled the home.

Mrs. Colley ran down the driveway yelling for help. She was unable to telephone because all the phones in the house were broken during the vandalism, Hall explained.

Lights line the Colley driveway and while Mrs. Colley made her way to the highway, Mr. Colley turned the lights on and off to draw attention of passing motorists.

When she reached the highway, Mrs. Colley flagged down a motorist and said her husband had been shot. The motorist got to a phone and called 911.

After learning the second man had fled the home, Sheriff Bobby Hammons immediately notified law enforcement agencies in the surrounding area to be on the lookout for a man and vehicle fitting the suspect's description.

Sexton was arrested later that night by Elkhorn City, Ky., police and Pike County, Ky., deputies. The next morning, investigator Scott Stanley, Hall and Hammons traveled to Kentucky to question the suspect.

After several hours of questioning, Sexton was arrested. He waived extradition and was arraigned in Dickenson County Circuit Court on Thursday. He is being held in the Dickenson County Jail without bond and authorities expect a preliminary hearing to be held in early January.