Rowan County Man Escapes Arrest, Dies In Gun Fight With Deputies

ROWAN COUNTY, N.C. — A convicted criminal was shot dead by Rowan County Sheriff’s Deputies after he escaped a court room and arrest.

The people who knew him say they have mixed emotions about what happened.

Rowan County Sheriff’s Office Deputies say they served an arrest order on Old Concord Road just after 1 P.M. Tuesday. Deputies say Kenneth Vickers aimed and fired a handgun at them. Deputies then shot back and killed Vickers at the scene.

Robert Sells arrived to the scene hours after shooting stopped. He says Vickers was his son-in-law and father of his grandchildren.

“He said he wasn’t going to jail,” Sells said. “We were expecting something like this.”

The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office tells WCCB that Vickers was on the run after being convicted last week in a Cabarrus County Courtroom on six counts of statutory sex offense. He was also convicted on six counts of indecent liberties.

Sells claims that his granddaughter was a victim of Vickers’, which has caused the entire family to follow the trial.

The sheriff’s office tells WCCB that Vickers was out on bond and able to escape last week by leaving during a courtroom break and not returning.

Despite Vickers’ history, family is still family for Sells.

“I love Kenny Vickers, he was my son in law,” Sells said. “To have this happen, it’s a tragedy.”