Dougherty Gang Sister Told Police She 'Deserved to Get Shot'
The oldest of the captured 'Dougherty Gang' describes getting shot to police.
Aug. 11, 2011 — -- Lee Grace Dougherty, the Florida stripper who led her two brothers in a cross country manhunt, told police after she was wounded and captured, "I deserved to get shot."
Lee Dougherty, the oldest of the trio of heavily armed siblings, appeared in court today by video along with her two brothers, Ryan Dougherty, 21, and Dylan Dougherty Stanley, 26. They were ordered held on $1.25 million bail each.
They were captured in Colorado on Wednesday after a 20 mile car chase with speeds up to 120 mph with one of the Doughertys allegedly firing an AK-47 assault rifle at pursuing cops. The chase ended when they tried to avoid spikes in the road set up by cops intended to deflate their tires, lost control of the car and the vehicle rolled over.
In a police affidavit made public today, Lee Dougherty admitted to police that after the crash she was running away while carrying a machine pistol. Police said she "stopped, attempted to work the action on the pistol, and pointed the weapon directly at" Walsenburg Police Chief Chamberlain.
But the cop fired several rounds at her instead. One bullet struck her in the right thigh.
In a confession to FBI Agent Christian Mohr, she said, "I pointed the gun at the cop" and "I deserved to get shot."
When she felt that she had been shot, Dougherty said that "instantly, I let go of the gun" and "the pain was all through my body."Dylan Dougherty
"We weren't trying to hurt anyone, we just wanted them to get back," Dougherty said, referring to the police officers that were pursuing them. "They were way back and we could barely see them. We were getting shot at, then we wrecked."
Police inserted a note in the affidavit saying that no shots were fired at the Dougherty car during the chase and that they may have mistaken the sounds made by tire deflation devices as gun shots.
When police asked her who in the car was firing at the police, Dougherty said that she "didn't shoot at any cop in the state of Colorado" and that her brother Ryan was driving the car. "A person can't drive and shoot a gun at the same time," Dougherty said, leading police to the conclusion that her half-brother Dylan was the one shooting at pursuing officers with an AK-47 assault rifle.
Dougherty's fiancé Brendon Bookman told ABC News today that when he accept a collect call from her jail Wednesday she was almost cheery.
He was greeted with an upbeat, "Hey!"
"Brendon, your girlfriend really messed up. Why'd you let me do this?" Dougherty said, according to Bookman who spoke to ABC News.
"She was very coherent and lucid, surprisingly so considering what she's facing," Bookman said. "She said, 'Come out here and get my brothers out first and then get me.' She always puts the needs of her family ahead of her own needs, even when it's to her own detriment."
Bookman said that while his family has bonded Dougherty out of jail before, he believed she was being "facetious" when she asked him to come get her, knowing full well that he could not afford the $130,000 he believes is necessary to post her $1.3 million bond.
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