Search for Murder Suspect Ends in Suicide Triggered by Anger

West Monroe Police say an aggressive manhunt for a suspect in an armed bank robbery and murder is over after the 26-year-old commits suicide outside a business in Oklahoma City.

Stephen Lane Salsbury, 26, fatally shot himself in the head. Oklahoma City Police confirm that the man called 911, told dispatchers who he was and where to find him. Police found the body in a white Nissan SUV stolen out of Webster Parish.

“The suspect being sought in a bank robbery and murder of a citizen in the community, killed himself with a single gunshot at a Bas Pro Shop in Oklahoma City,” said Police Chief Christopher Elg, of the West Monroe Police Department. “Deputy U.S. marshals attempted to close in on him They were in the parking lot, not far from the vehicle. He spotted them closing in on him, and fired one shot to himself.”

Chief Elg says he received tip calls from as far as Atlanta, to Shreveport, Monroe, and El Dorado.

West Monroe Police say that for the past three days, Salsbury was emotionally unraveled, and suffered a breakdown in his family life.

“Unrest in the family. He was angry and targeted an employee who worked at the bank. Which began all the events that transpired that day,” said Detective Sgt. Tim Ziegler.

The target Ziegler is referring to is Salsbury’s wife’s ex-husband. Police say that Salsbury was searching for his romantic rival, starting at a West Monroe apartment complex, and a bank where he was thought to be an employee.

Police confirm that one of the victims in the wake of the violence was 58-year-old Garland Henley, who was fatally shot in the back. Officials believe that Salsbury intended to steal Henley’s car, or attempt to force Henley into the car and drive him around.

“He intended to take that car. He wanted to be driven by the deceased. The deceased refused and he got shot in the back,” said Sgt. Ziegler.

A home invasion, a bank robbery, multiple auto thefts, a deadly shooting, kidnapping, and a shoot-out with an off-duty sheriff’s deputy: the list of accusations goes on for a man who reportedly doesn’t have a criminal record.

At first, West Monroe Police say that they were called to three different crime scenes located in close proximity of the next one.

West Monroe Police rushed to the 1000 block of Glenwood Drive, and reported that Salsbury stole a silver Toyota Tundra at an apartment complex, and mistakenly kicked in a door where he believed his wife’s ex-husband was living. Police confirm that he brandished a weapon.

“He drove up in this truck, got out with two rifles, and got up to the door, and kicked it open, put the shotgun on the lady, and he apparently was looking for someone else,” said Craig Wallace, a resident.

West Monroe Police say Salsbury allegedly drove across the street to Chase Bank on Thomas Road, where he demanded money from tellers at gunpoint. Detectives confirm that he took off with a bag of cash.

“A fella came in yelling, wanting tellers to empty drawers and give him money. He said something like, ‘You think I’m kidding?’” said Fred Matte, a witness.

But the crime spree wasn’t over for Salsbury, say police, after witnesses confirm that he drove to the parking lot of Brookshire’s, and confronted an elderly man who was walking in the parking lot.

Witnesses say Salsbury got out of the truck, aimed a high-powered assault rifle at the victim’s back, and fired shots in front of two women.

“I heard a gunshot. I was over there working and I turned around and I looked and saw an old man on the ground. During that process, the older guy was like, is this good enough for you? Then he walked back to the truck with the gun and got in,” said Chris Whittington, a construction worker who saw the shooting.

Phillip Bedenbender said, “A woman said, he drove up in a pickup truck with that rifle, shot the man with the rifle, turned and looked at them. They were afraid he’d shoot them.”

West Monroe Police called in assistance on the investigation from the Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office, state police and the FBI.

Officials tracked Salsbury all the way over to Union County, Ark., where Chief Deputy Clark Burton says officers were called to a possible aggravated robbery at R & D Grocery off Highway 167 South.

Union County Sheriff’s officials say the victim, Rosemary Wallace, claimed that Salsbury ordered her to unlock her door while her children were inside her green Chevy pickup truck. Officials confirm that the suspect was armed with a rifle.

Wallace said she put her truck in reverse and thwarted his attempt to steal her car, leaving the suspect to get back into the stolen Tundra and flee from the store.

Union County Sheriff’s deputies have obtained a felony arrest warrant for Salsbury, for attempted aggravated robbery and attempted theft of property.

Police say that Salsbury then traveled to Webster Parish, where officials confirm that the suspect attempted to kidnap an off-duty Webster Parish Sheriff’s dispatcher.

At a Springhill convenience store, officials say the suspect attempted to contact the dispatcher, who was preparing to go to work for the day.  That’s when Salsbury allegedly grabbed her against her will from the parking lot, forced her into her 2002 Nissan Xterra at gunpoint, and demanded that she drive.

Officials say the dispatcher managed to find a gun and got into a shoot-out with Salsbury, before she got out of the SUV. Neither was wounded in the shoot-out.

Police credit several agencies for helping them in the investigation: the U.S. Marshals service, FBI, state police, Ouachita, Webster, Bossier, Jackson and West Carroll Parish Sheriff’s Office, Monroe, Springhill, and Oak Grove city police, and the Arkansas State Prosecutor’s Office.