POCATELLO — Jonnie Wilson never gave up on her son, Bradley Wilson.

    But when she called police Thursday and asked for a welfare check on him, she knew he would run — if he was in a car.

    Her prediction was deadly accurate.

    Bradley, 30, was shot and killed by a Bannock County deputy after he led police on a high-speed chase through Pocatello and Chubbuck and then entered Petco and took a young man hostage Thursday night.

    The plaza was surrounded by police and when Bradley exited and pointed the gun at the hostage, the deputy fired one shot striking Bradley in the neck and killing him.

    “He just needed help,” Jonnie said. “I wanted them to take him to jail if that would get him help.”

    Jonnie, a single mom, said she received a number of text messages from Bradley that day stating that he would be better off dead — she notified law enforcement officials and gave officers her cellphone to help locate Bradley.

    Jonnie learned about the shooting from a friend and immediately called the police.

    “I said, ‘Please tell me that is not my son,’ ” Jonnie said.

    Jonnie said her son would have never harmed the hostage.

    “The gun he had didn’t even work,” she said. “I know that they didn’t know that, though, and I’m sure that young man was terrified. I’m so sorry that this happened.”

    Bradley had met with court officials that day and learned that he would most likely be charged as a habitual offender and sentenced to life in prison for his second felony eluding charge.

    “He was not a bad kid, he just took a couple of bad turns,” Jonnie said.

    Bradley’s first contact with law enforcement was when he was just 18 years old — he was charged with sexual abuse of a minor under 16 years of age. But his uncle, Jim Campbell, a parole officer in Boise, said he was not a typical sex offender.

    At 17, Bradley broke up with his girlfriend who was at that time, 15, the girl brought charges against him shortly after his 18th birthday.

    “I would trust Bradley with my kids,” Campbell said.

    Bradley had a dual diagnosis of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia as well as a long history of substance abuse — mostly methamphetamine.

    “They were setting him up for failure,” Campbell said about the drugs. “With the dual diagnosis and then adding drugs, you are going down a dangerous road.”

    Bradley served five years in prison for felony eluding and when he was released, Jonnie said, he turned his life around. He enrolled in the auto body program at Idaho State University and even managed to stay clean for more than year.

    “He was very proud of being at ISU,” Jonnie said.

    His aunt, Lisa Acuna, said Bradley maintained a GPA of 3.9 while at college.

    Acuna said she and Bradley grew up together.

    “We were inseparable,” she said.

    But last August, Bradley was shot in the hand while at a party in Pocatello. He had to quit school and his family said his life, once again, began to spiral out of control.

    “He just kind of went crazy from then on,” his grandmother, Diana Adams said.

    When emergency room doctor refused to give him pain medication, he pulled the reconstructive pins out of his hand. ER workers refused to release him unless a family member picked him up, but again Bradley fled. The police were called and he was cited again for felony eluding.

    Bradley was prescribed anti-psychotic medication, but with no insurance and at $380 for a 30-day prescription, he couldn’t afford to continue to take them.

    “If you don’t have money or insurance it’s hard to get help,” said his aunt Melody Murphy of San Diego.

    The family gathered at Jonnie’s home on Samuel Street on Sunday, relatives from California, Washington and Utah came to support the family and remember Bradley.

    “His nickname was ‘Squirrel’ he was very funny,” another aunt, JoAnn Shellenberger, said. “He was a prankster.”

    The family joked about a time when Bradley dressed in a pink gorilla suit and delivered 50 pink balloons to a nephew who was in the hospital.

    Bradley leaves behind two children, a 1-year-old son, Jacob, and two-month old Bailee.

    “He took care of those babies,” Adams said. “They were his whole life.”

    While her phone call to police ultimately lead to his death, Jonnie believes she did the right thing.

    “I didn’t want him to hurt himself, or anyone else,” she said.

    Campbell said he has been in contact with law enforcement regarding the shooting, which is under investigation by the Bingham County Sheriff’s office.

    “Our condolences go out to the hostage and to the officer who was involved,” he said. “We are grateful that no one else was hurt.”