Fugitive Commits Suicide With Bondsman's Gun

Defendant Clifford Skiles committed suicide in Toledo, OH by using his bondsman’s gun. His bondsman, Thomas Holmes, attempted to take him into custody when he took Holmes gun. Holmes told police he carried the unloaded gun in the trunk of his vehicle, and loaded it before he went to Skiles' mother's residence. Once inside the apartment, Mr. Holmes had the gun in a holster on his person in plain view. Skiles apparently did not want to go to jail, the two men struggled, and Holmes pulled out the gun. The two men then fought over the weapon, police said. Skiles gained possession of the gun, fled the apartment, and jumped into the back seat of a waiting vehicle, occupied by a woman and her teenage daughter. The two females got out of the vehicle when they saw the gun and Skiles shot himself, police said. Skiles staggered back to the apartment building, where police found him wounded on the top of a set of outside stairs. He died about 30 minutes later at St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center. Police said Mr. Holmes was inside the apartment and on the phone with 911 when the shooting occurred.