Michael Wayne Wesley Jr., 27, of Springfield was taken to Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend after being shot several times by a pair of Springf

Michael Wayne Wesley Jr., 27, of Springfield was taken to Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend after being shot several times by a pair of Springfield police officers who had sought him in connection with the brutal slaying of Wendy Whitaker on Wednesday morning.Police Chief Jerry Smith said investigators believe that Wesley and another man, Ronald Joshua Smith, 27, of Springfield, fired several rounds from a .45-caliber handgun and a shotgun toward Whitaker and her boyfriend during a drive-by shooting just before 7 a.m. Wednesday in the 5100 block of E Street.
Whitaker, 35, was killed by the gunfire. Her boyfriend, whose name was not released by police, was uninjured.Chief Smith had a succinct and serious answer when asked how Wesley was recovering from the injuries he suffered during his confrontation with police just before 11 a.m. Thursday on Hayden Bridge Road.
“He’s doing a lot better than Wendy Whitaker,” the chief said.Wesley was in critical condition late Thursday, a nursing supervisor at the Springfield hospital said.
Investigators believe that the suspects knew Whitaker and her boyfriend — who the chief said may have been the shooters’ intended target.Police did not reveal the suspected motive for the crime.“They had some dealings together, and there had been some problems going on for several days,” Chief Smith said.Detectives took Ronald Smith into custody late Wednesday, and held him overnight at the police department.
Meanwhile, police kept a close eye late Wednesday and early Thursday on several homes that they believed Wesley might visit.Springfield detectives Larry Turner and Robert Weaver saw Wesley’s pickup arrive at a home in the 1100 block of Hayden Bridge Road just before 11 a.m., and tried to arrest him.He was not compliant, and began yelling at the officers” from the pickup, Chief Smith said.
Wesley then backed his truck into a marked police car, pinning detective Weaver between the open passenger door of the cruiser and its door frame, Chief Smith said.
At that point, both Weaver and Turner fired multiple shots at Wesley, striking him several times, Chief Smith said.An injured Wesley then drove away, leading police on a short chase before striking a brick wall at the corner of Hayden Bridge Road and 10th Street, Chief Smith said.Longtime neighborhood resident Sandra Connelly said Wesley drove through her yard before crashing into the wall. She said she heard between 10 and 12 shots fired during Wesley’s confrontation with police.
“I thought for a minute that maybe it was somebody shooting off fireworks,” said Connelly, who was alone inside her home at the time. “Once I realized it was gunshots, I hit the ground. This was very scary.”
Chief Smith said Weaver — a five-year veteran of the Springfield police force — was taken to McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center with bruising and other relatively minor injuries sustained when Wesley rammed his patrol car. Turner has worked for the department for 10 years. He was not injured.Thursday’s incident will be investigated by the newly created Lane County Interagency Deadly Force Investigation Team. The group’s findings will be forwarded to the Lane County District Attorney’s Office, which will determine whether Weaver and Turner were justified in shooting Wesley. Both detectives have been placed on paid administrative leave pending the investigation’s outcome.Wesley’s alleged partner, Ronald Smith, was jailed Thursday on charges of murder, vehicle theft, first-degree burglary, conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery and unlawful use of a weapon.
Chief Smith said Wesley could face similar charges.Police believe that Wesley and Smith stole a car from someone in the neighborhood where Whitaker was killed, then drove away after gunning down Whitaker. She was pronounced dead at the scene of the shooting minutes after police arrived.Chief Smith said Whitaker’s boyfriend fired a flare gun back at the shooters, igniting a small fire in the yard of an E Street home.Both Wesley and Ronald Smith are parolees with long criminal records.Wesley has prior felony convictions for vehicle theft, identity theft and drug possession. Smith’s record includes felony convictions for selling methamphetamine, burglary and being a felon in possession of a firearm.On Thursday, police cordoned off a four-block section of Hayden Bridge Road for several hours after police shot Wesley.Staff members at Elizabeth Page Elementary School, about two blocks from where the shooting occurred, took precautionary action immediately after the incident, but the school was not locked down.Thursday’s incident was the second officer-involved shooting to occur this week in Lane County. On Monday, county sheriff’s Deputies Todd Olson and Greg Jones shot and injured Nathan Dix, 31, at a home off River Road in Eugene. Dix remained hospitalized in critical condition on Thursday.
Chief Smith said on average, his officers are involved in about one shooting per year. The last time was in August 2007, when Springfield officer Chris Krieger shot Thomas Hagar, 47, three times after Hagar pointed a toy gun at the officer. Prosecutors in the District Attorney’s Office determined the shooting was justified.