A confrontation between Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office deputies and a Village of Oak Creek woman over the weekend resulted in her death.
According to YCSO spokesman Chris Wilson, at around 6:50 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7, deputies responded to a residence on Cathedral Rock Drive in reference to a domestic disturbance in which the female subject involved had reportedly discharged a firearm.
“Upon arrival, the subject confronted the deputies outside of her residence armed with a handgun,” a press release from YCSO states. “After multiple attempts at de-escalation and negotiations, as well as numerous verbal commands to drop the weapon, the subject brandished the firearm. In response to the threat to himself and the other first responders, a patrol sergeant and 16- year veteran of the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office fired a single shot, striking the assailant.”
On Nov. 22, the YCSO identified the first deputy on the scene as Deputy Esdras Agundez. Sgt. John Johnson arrived about Agundez had been on scene for roughly 15 minutes. Johnson fired the single, fatal shot. YCSO released body camera video from the two deputies on Nov. 22.
THE VIDEO MAY CONTAIN GRAPHIC IMAGES WHICH MAY BE DISTURBING TO SOME VIEWERS. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
“The subject, identified as 56-year-old Wendy Jones, was pronounced deceased at the scene,” the release states. “None of the deputies involved were injured during the encounter. At the request of Sheriff [Scott] Mascher, the incident is currently under investigation by the Arizona Department of Public Safety.”
An email to members of the Sedona Historical Society board, on which Jones served, stated, “This is very sad. Wendy was a cheerleader for many Sedona causes and for SHS and the museum.”
Terrie Frankel, who had been friends with Jones for six years, said she and many others were shocked by the news.
“Wendy was always thinking of ways to make everyone’s world better, and for herself, she accomplished that in spades,” Frankel said. “She married the man of her dreams, one of Sedona’s most noted builders, Dave Blauert. Dave would always tell me how happy he was with his young bride and that he was ‘having the time of his life.’”
“Wendy’s many friends only saw the love, the light, the hard work and the giving,” Frankel went on to say. “A few of us saw the sadness, late at night, when she revealed personal challenges that plagued her. Some of us now wonder if there was anything we could have done to reach out to her and somehow prevent a spontaneous act that led to tragedy.”
DPS is still investigating the incident.
This is the third officer-involved shooting resulting in a death in 2020 within the Verde Valley.
On Jan. 20 Sedona officers received a call from a resident on Newcastle Lane that there was an unknown male on the property with a machete and a stick. The caller indicated that the male was yelling and screaming.
“At one point the caller looked out and said it appeared the male was slicing himself with the machete,” SPD Chief Charles Husted said at the scene of the shooting. “Our officers arrived on the scene at 1:29 p.m. They engaged the subject and shots were fired at 1:32 p.m. The fire [district] was called for assistance and after their arrival declared the subject deceased at 1:40 p.m.”
The subject shot by two officers was later identified as 41-year-old Jonathan David Messare, of Sedona.
Following a seven-month investigation, delayed somewhat by the COVID-19 pandemic, DPS concluded in its 407-page report in early August that the officers feared for their lives and were justified in their actions.
On Feb. 27, Joshua David Hernandez Lord, 33, was shot and killed by Clarkdale police after responding to a call inside a home located on the 1400 block of Second South Street in Clarkdale. Lord allegedly struck his son in the head, causing numerous skull fractures prior to police arriving. Lord also allegedly struck his 51-year-old mother in the head, fracturing her skull as well.
The 4-year-old boy injured in the domestic disturbance was airlifted to Flagstaff Medical Center. He was pronounced dead from severe head injuries the following day.
Editor’s Note: This story is an update of a story first reported the morning of Nov. 8, which you can find here:
