A few hours before authorities say Douglas Skipworth opened fire on his estranged wife in a drugstore, he convinced police that he posed no immediate danger.
His barber had alerted police that morning that Skipworth, 54, was upset about his crumbling marriage and had hinted at suicide.
Leesburg police described Douglas Skipworth as friendly while they chatted with him.
Though they smelled beer on his breath, the officers noted his speech was clear and he did not appear "overly intoxicated." He acknowledged that he was upset because his wife of six years had left him the night before but also assured them "everything was all right."
Police asked to look inside his home, but Skipworth refused, offering several excuses, including his three big, white-haired dogs who could soil the officers' uniforms. When the officers explained they had a lint roller, Skipworth said he didn't want them in his house.
Both officers who spoke with Skipworth concluded he did not meet the Baker-Act criteria for an emergency, involuntary mental-health commitment.
But about 3 1/2 hours later, Skipworth, a former police officer, shot his wife in the chest, knee and ankle inside the store and then calmly drove away in his pickup.
Skipworth offered no resistance to Lake County deputies who stopped his truck about an hour after the shooting. Deputies found the handgun in the truck's center console.
Jayne Skipworth was in stable condition at Orlando Regional Medical Center.
When police later searched the home, police found marijuana plants.
Though Skipworth told police he had been a law-enforcement officer in Georgia for 10 years, documents from Georgia show his certification was revoked three years after it was issued.
He lost his job after he was indicted for possessing methamphetamine. His disciplinary summary also alleged that he bought crack cocaine while on duty, but those charges were never substantiated.
The documents also noted that Skipworth never faced criminal charges because "the officer has a terminal illness and had moved out of state." The illness was unspecified.
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