Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office awarded former Reserve Deputy Rex Nance the Gold Medal of Valor.
Reserve Deputy Sheriff Rex Nance performed an act of incredible bravery at a terrifying incident that occurred nearly 40 years ago. At the time, due to a combination of circumstances, no official recognition of his actions was made. Reserve Deputy Nance’s actions displayed valor for which he deserved and still deserves recognition.
The Gold Medal of Valor is awarded to those Sheriff’s Office members who knowingly placed themselves in a perilous situation and performed an act of heroism and/or saved or attempted to save the life of another. The story of Reserve Deputy Sheriff Rex Nance’s brave actions is truly extraordinary.
Rex Nance was a Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office Reserve Deputy from 1969 to 1976. He lived in the west county area and worked as a partner to several River and Coast Deputies during his years of service. At the time of this incident, Nance was a PG&E employee, he was off-duty, driving his personal pickup truck and armed with a pistol.
On August 23, 1975, at approximately 11:33 PM, Deputy Sheriff Merrit Deeds and Reserve Deputy Rex Nance were shot by John Robert Shirey, a convicted felon. Deputy Deeds died from two bullet wounds. Reserve Deputy Nance, wounded five times, eventually recovered but his injuries forced him to resign from the Sheriff’s Office. The murder occurred on Highway 116 near Jenner.
The incident unfolded just after Nance and Deeds had parted way after discussing Nance’s imminent promotion from Reserve Deputy to Full time. Deeds headed west on Highway 116 where he saw adult men standing outside of a car parked along the roadside. He stopped to investigate and contacted Shirey and passengers David Waite and Steven Johnson. Unbeknownst to Deeds, Shirey, Waite and Johnson had picked up two juvenile male hitchhikers. The two boys had just run into an adjacent pasture escaping an attempted sexual assault by the men.
The boys came back to Deeds patrol car as he was checking with dispatch about Shirey, Waite and Johnson. Shirey was armed with a handgun and ambushed Deeds. The two engaged in a struggle, just as Reserve Deputy Nance happened to come around the corner in his private vehicle with a friend inside as a passenger. He leapt from his truck and quickly came to the aid of Deeds.
The men had disarmed Deeds and had their own weapons as well. Shirey shot Deeds twice, once in the cheek and then in the back, as he fell to the ground, near his neck. His wounds were fatal.
Shirey shot Nance five times: first in the face near his eyebrow and taking his hat off and knocking him to the ground. As he was trying to get up and draw his gun he was shot with a pistol in the right arm near the elbow, thereby losing his grip of his weapon. As he rose, Nance was shot again, this time in his right upper chest. Nance moved toward his truck to escape Shirey and was shot again, this time in the abdomen. Shirey fired again and missed.
The three men got back into their car drove off, as they did Shirey fired a pistol toward Nance at least three times, striking Nance again in the right arm and flattening the left front tire of his truck. The men sped away, circled back and left the area.
Nance sent his friend to check on Deeds as he tried to radio for help. The friend reported that Deeds was mortally wounded,
Based on Nance’s call for help, other Deputies and members of allied agencies responded to the scene and began a search for the suspects on State Hwy 116, State Hwy 1 and other connecting roads.
The first patrol vehicle to arrive, driven by Deputy Brent Jameson (who was killed in the crash of Angel II in 1980) and his partner, Reserve Deputy Bill Passalacqua, arrived approximately twelve minutes later, and reported that Deputy Deeds was deceased and that Reserve Deputy Nance was gravely wounded.
According to the two accomplices, they stopped the car and Shirey retrieved a twelve gauge shotgun and a box of ammunition from the trunk. The plan was if they were stopped by a law enforcement officer, Shirey would shoot the officer through the back window.
Just east of Freestone, CHP Officer Jack Symons and CHP Sergeant Arnold Pederson saw a vehicle matching the description of the suspect vehicle. They turned south on Barnett Valley Road and into the driveway of a residence. The driveway was sloped in such a manner that when the CHP car pulled behind their car, the headlights of the CHP patrol car flooded the back window with light, preventing Shirey from being able to see and murder the officers.
Shirey attempted to flee into the brush but was seen and stopped by Sgt. Pederson. The three suspects were taken into custody without incident. Sheriff’s Detective Sergeant Butch Carlstedt, who was the first Sheriff’s Office member on the scene of the arrest, assisted the CHP officers in searching the suspects and discovered three weapons in the car: Deputy Deeds’ revolver, a 9mm pistol and the shotgun. The time elapsed from the shootings to capture was approximately forty-five minutes
After more than 40 surgeries and a considerable amount of time, Reserve Deputy Nance recovered from his wounds but was unable to return to work as a Reserve Deputy.
Shirey was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to death. His sentence was later commuted to life in prison due to California’s high court death penalty decisions. He died in prison.
Deputy Sheriff Merrit Deeds is interred at the Shiloh Cemetery in Windsor.
Reserve Deputy Rex Nance, without hesitation, came to the aid of his fellow Deputy. He knowingly put himself in a perilous situation and attempted to save the life of his partner. He suffered grievous injuries and undoubtedly saved the two boys from harm.
Reserve Deputies are sworn peace officers and perform the same duties as full-time Deputy Sheriffs, yet they do it for absolutely no compensation. They selflessly contribute to our community with honesty, integrity, bravery and commitment. The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office is enormously proud of our Reserve Deputies.
Reserve Deputy Rex Nance is a hero and is awarded our highest honor, the Gold Medal of Valor.
Address/Location
Sonoma County Sheriff's Office
2796 Ventura Ave
Santa Rosa, CA 95403
Contact
Emergency: 9-1-1
Non-emergencies: 707-565-2650