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Tests Link All 3 W.Va. Shooting Deaths
EFLInvestigators said Thursday that ballistics tests showed all three victims in a series of sniper-style slayings at area convenience stores were killed by the same weapon. Charleston Police Chief Jerry Pauley said the victims, who all were shot in the head or neck last week, were killed by a .22-caliber rifle. "It does positively link the three bullets together. They all three came from the same weapon," Pauley said at an evening news conference. "Now that we know it came from the same weapon, weâve got a direction to go in." Also Thursday, police released a composite sketch of a person witnesses described seeing at the scene of one of the shootings: a heavy-set white male with dark hair, long sideburns and a goatee. Police did not describe the man as a suspect, but said they wanted to speak with him. Witnesses told police they saw a large white man in a truck the night of the Aug. 14 shootings. Based on witness accounts, investigators are looking for a dark-colored, two-tone Ford F-150 extended cab pickup that was seen at the last two slayings. Gary Carrier Jr., 44, of South Charleston, was killed Aug. 10 while making a telephone call outside a Charleston convenience store. Four days later, Jeanie Patton, 31, and Okey Meadows Jr., 26, both of Campbells Creek, were killed within 90 minutes of each other at rural convenience stores about 10 miles apart and less than 20 miles east of Charleston. Pauley said investigators have not determined whether the three murders are the work of a random sniper. Kanawha County sheriffâs officials had said earlier that the killings of Meadows and Patton appeared to be drug-related. Investigators havenât found any evidence to show drugs were involved in Carrierâs slaying, Pauley said. "Weâve got profilers looking at the information ... They havenât determined anything for us yet," Pauley said. A city, county and federal task force continues to sift through more than 400 leads, 10 of which have linked two of the shootings in the Campbells Creek area to drugs. Drugs or terrorism? Third shooting doesnât fit the first theory. Posted by: Steve White 2003-08-22 |
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