Rancher killed in refuge standoff vowed to die before jail

FILE - In this Jan. 9, 2016 file photo, LaVoy Finicum, a rancher from Arizona, speaks to the media after members of an armed group along with several other organizations arrive at the at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Ore. The FBI and Oregon State Police arrested the leaders of an armed group that has occupied a national wildlife refuge for the past three weeks during a traffic stop that prompted gunfire — and one death — along a highway through the frozen high country. The Oregonian reported that Finicum was the person killed, citing the man's daughter. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) FILE - In this Jan. 9, 2016 file photo, LaVoy Finicum, a rancher from Arizona, speaks to the media after members of an armed group along with several other organizations arrive at the at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Ore. The FBI and Oregon State Police arrested the leaders of an armed group that has occupied a national wildlife refuge for the past three weeks during a traffic stop that prompted gunfire — and one death — along a highway through the frozen high country. The Oregonian reported that Finicum was the person killed, citing the man's daughter. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

By Associated Press January 27, 2016 1 min read

BURNS, Oregon (AP) – A rancher who was killed during a traffic stop while in Oregon for an armed standoff at a wildlife refuge recently vowed he would die before going to prison.

Fifty-five-year-old LaVoy Finicum of Cain Beds, Arizona, died after law enforcement officers initiated the stop Tuesday night near the Malheur (MAL’-hure) National Wildlife Refuge.

It’s unclear what happened in the moments before the shooting, or if Finicum or others exchanged gunfire with officers. Authorities wouldn’t say how many shots were fired.

On Jan. 5, Finicum told reporters at the refuge that he learned there was a warrant for his arrest. With rifle in hand, he said he would die before spending the last of his days in a cell.

The traffic stop happened as group leader Ammon Bundy and his followers drove to a community meeting in the town of John Day. Bundy and seven other occupiers were arrested.