Years before he was arrested on suspicion of killing his father in a Kaysville motel, Joseph Allen Nance was a straight-A student and the pride and joy of his family and teachers, his sister said.

That was before meth and domestic violence ravaged the family, said Charity Green. "My brother was just a great person. Everybody loved him. Drugs made him a monster," she said. "My brother, in his right mind, would not have done this. But he wasn't in his right mind.

"He is sitting in jail right now, which is where he needs to be."

Nance, 28, was booked into the Davis County jail on suspicion of murder early Sunday after an overnight search near Far West Motel, 410 N. Main St., Kaysville.

He allegedly shot his father four times with a .22 caliber revolver about 7:45 p.m., Saturday, said Kaysville police Capt. Brent Ward. Officers found the body of 52-year-old Gregory Allen Nance inside a motel room.

"There was a domestic dispute between the suspect's parents," Ward said. "His mother and father were currently divorced, but they had been living together at a motel for the last month or two and had gotten into a domestic dispute."

Joseph Nance had threatened to kill his father "several times" over the years, his sister said. In 2003, he served five months in a federal prison for owning a gun with missing serial numbers; he was ordered to extended probation in 2006 after testing positive five times for methamphetamine, according to court records.

"He got that gun with the intention of killing my father," Green said.

Father-son strife was not new, Green said. Gregory Nance had been an abusive husband and father until he and his wife divorced in 2003, Green said. At that point, he checked himself into a mental health program for 30 days, she said.

"He went to counseling and he became a better person. He remained friends with my mom, and he stayed in our lives," said Green, who moved out of her parents' home when she was 13. "I was so proud of him. I finally had my dad — the dad that I always wanted. I wasn't afraid to say anything to him. I knew he wouldn't yell at me. I knew he wouldn't hurt me."

Police say Joseph Nance shot his father and then ran into a wooded area northeast of the motel. He was picked up by some friends who did not know a shooting had occurred, Ward said.

Officers found Nance hiding in a wooden bunker near Layton sometime after 4 a.m., Sunday, Ward said.

Gregory Nance's brother, Monty Nance, called him "a good man. He was a good brother. He was a good father at one point in time."

Gregory Nance faced multiple felony charges of aggravated assault and distribution of a controlled substance in the 1990s and a string of misdemeanor charges in the next decade for violating a protective order, according to court records. He was charged last month in 2nd District Court with misdemeanor assault and domestic violence in the presence of a child, stemming from a report Dec. 31, 2010.

After the tumultuous marriage, Gregory Nance's family cautioned him against spending time with his son and ex-wife, said Monty Nance.

"Greg moved over there [Far West Motel] to get away from them," he said. "Somehow or another, he let them back in. ... I figured something was going to happen sooner or later. I just didn't think it was going to be this. He didn't deserve this. That's for damn sure."

Gregory Nance's ex-wife and son often stayed with him when they had nowhere else to live, Green said.

"He was giving [Joseph] and my mom a place to stay, somewhere warm to sleep, food to eat," Green said, breaking into tears. "Now my daddy is gone. I'll never be able to hold his hand and say, 'I love you.' I'll never be able to hear his voice again. ... I've lost my dad and I've lost my brother."

Police still were searching Sunday for the .22 caliber revolver they believe Joseph Nance used in the shooting. Ward asked residents near the motel to call police at 801-546-1131 if they see the weapon.