TYLER, Texas — Police documents show a Tyler man accused of killing two dentists last week when he became angry over his dentures had always been a "difficult patient."
Steven Alexander Smith, 40, of Tyler, is charged with capital murder of multiple persons in connection with the March 16 shooting deaths of Dr. Blake G. Sinclair, 59, and Dr. Jack E. Burroughs, 75, both of Tyler, at Affordable Dentures & Implants in Tyler.
He is also charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for allegedly threatening one of the dental office nurses.
Smith remains jailed on bonds totaling $3 million. In Texas, if a person is found guilty of capital murder, they either face life in prison without parole or the death penalty.
According to an arrest affidavit, the nurse, who was in the patient room with Smith working on his dentures, said Smith was not happy with how the staff was doing the procedure and he was telling her and other nurses what to do.
The nurse said this made them uncomfortable and noted Smith had been a difficult patient in the past as well.
The nurse asked Burroughs to speak to Smith, and Burroughs told Smith he would no longer be a patient because of the problems he was causing. Smith became upset, tried to take his dentures and pushed Burroughs to the ground, the affidavit stated.
Smith left the building and returned walking quickly toward the door. As Burroughs and Sinclair watched Smith walk to his vehicle and back to the business, Burroughs attempted to lock the front door. Smith forced the door open, which knocked Burroughs to the ground, according to the affidavit.
Sinclair grabbed Smith from behind like a bear hug, and Smith and Sinclair started to fight. The nurse then saw Smith pull a handgun out and shoot about five times at Burroughs and Sinclair, the document read.
After the doctors were shot, the nurse told police Smith pointed his gun at her. He told her to unlock the door but she refused. Smith then left the business in his vehicle, the affidavit stated.
Sinclair and Burroughs were later pronounced dead at a local hospital.
The sheriff's office said after the shooting, Smith fled the area heading west on Highway 31 toward the city limits of Tyler. Using a description of the vehicle and plate number, a deputy found Smith pulling into the driveway of his home in the south part of Tyler.
He retreated into the home, and deputies and Tyler police officers established a perimeter around the house. After several minutes, Smith's parents came out of the home and he then came out of the residence, the sheriff's office said.
Through a search of the home, Sheriff Larry Smith said deputies found two pistols, which are both the same caliber as the one used in the shooting. The guns were sent to the Texas Department of Public Safety laboratory to identify the weapon that was used.