Suspect In Shooting Death Of Logan County Deputy Charged

The suspect in the shooting death of a Logan County deputy on Tuesday has been charged.

Nathan Aaron LeForce, 45, is charged with murder in the first-degree, armed robbery in the first degree and larceny of a motor vehicle. District Attorney Laura Thomas told News 9's Tiffany Liou on Thursday that the state could choose to seek the death penalty in the LeForce case.

Logan County Deputy Sheriff David Wade, 40, was shot multiple times including in the face and the body and died in surgery at OU Medical Center.

Authorities released Wade's body camera footage, Wednesday, showing the deadly altercation after Wade served an eviction notice for someone else at the location. LeForce came outside the house, pulled a gun from his waistband and opened fire from about 20 to 40 feet away, according to authorities.

LeForce then fled the scene driving south in Wade’s Logan County sheriff’s office pickup and the hunt was on.

Not long after the shooting, surveillance footage captured LeForce pulling into Smitty’s One Stop in Coyle, less than 15 miles away from the shooting scene.

LeForce first tried to ditch the pickup behind the gas station and break into a parked vehicle. When that didn’t work, LeForce headed back to the front of the gas station, where he found an unsuspecting customer, flashed his gun and carjacked the woman of her gray Mazda vehicle.

In the stolen Mazda, LeForce made it a little more than five miles west, near County Road 76 and Jaxton Road, where he ditched the car and ran away.

A heavy law enforcement presence descended on that location, and after about five hours, LeForce was found hiding in an outbuilding on property in the area. Officials said they pinged LeForce’s cell phone to determine his location. He surrendered to officers without incident. He was not injured during the original altercation with Wade.      

Back in 2000, LeForce led authorities on a chase starting in Perry, according to court records.

An affidavit stated police officers opened fire on his vehicle, after they said LeForce showed an AR-15. 

Later Tuesday, law enforcement officers helped form a procession for Wade’s body as it was moved from the state medical examiner's office to a funeral home in Guthrie. Several civilian vehicles and other agencies stopped along the roadsides and bridges, to watch as Wade’s body was being transported.