Dockery had a long criminal record

When Devon Dockery exchanged gunfire with officers Monday, the deadly confrontation proved to be the last in a long run of incidents between police and the 34-year-old convicted felon from Minneapolis.

In late August, mid-May and back in 2003, Dockery was either arrested for or convicted of violating court orders for protection issued against him in Hennepin and Ramsey counties.

"He has a lengthy arrest record," North St. Paul Police Chief Tom Lauth said of the suspect, who died at the scene.

In fact, Lauth said, his officers went to the Aspen Village apartments on Skillman Avenue the night before the bloodshed looking to arrest Dockery for yet another suspected violation of a protection order.

Dockery's criminal past also included charges of making terroristic threats, domestic abuse and unlawful possession of a handgun.

The weapons violation led to his conviction in 2004 and a five-year state prison sentence, according to state court and Department of Corrections records.

The conviction stemmed from a dispute in April 2003, when Dockery pointed a gun at his wife, Stacey Terry, in their townhouse. As a convicted felon, Dockery had been barred from having the weapon.

The Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld the conviction, noting that Terry testified that Dockery pointed the gun at her and that DNA evidence presented at trial indicated he had handled the weapon.

On Monday, a woman at the shooting scene who identified herself as Stacey Terry and as Dockery's wife said she was the one who called police this last time. She added that she took out the order for protection months ago.

And it didn't take long for Dockery to violate it.

According to Ramsey County jail records, on May 18 and again on Aug. 26, North St. Paul police arrested Dockery at the Skillman address and jailed him.

On Sunday, again police were called to the Skillman apartment, but officers missed Dockery this time.