The Associated Press
Related: Va. officer shot during pursuit of robbers
BLUEFIELD, Va. — Four persons were captured yesterday in connection with the shooting of a southern Virginia sheriff”s deputy during a traffic stop, according to state police.
Washington County Sheriff”s deputies arrested Wallace S. Kinder Jr., 34, of Cedar Bluff; Roxie Amanda Short, 24, of Bishop; and Scottie Lee Stinson, 27, of Bandy; and Tracy Stinson Coxton, 32, also of Bandy.
The four had been on the run since the shooting Friday of Tazewell County Deputy Eric Mullins and face attempted capital murder charges in connection with the incident. Additional charges are pending.
Authorities captured them at about 8:30 a.m. after a county sheriff”s deputy working radar enforcement on U.S. Route 19 saw a vehicle matching the description of a 1986 Ford F-150 wanted in connection with the shooting, state police Sgt. Mike Conroy said.
The officer tried to stop the car, which turned off the roadway and into a driveway. Police said the suspects then surrendered without incident. They”ve since cooperated with investigators, Sgt. Conroy said.
“Stinson, during the interview, was relieved that the deputy was not injured seriously,” he said.
Deputy Mullins called for backup. As Bluefield officers approached, police said, shots were fired from the car.
The Mitsubishi fled. Police found the car abandoned hours later about two miles away near Bluefield College, Sgt. Conroy said.
Deputy Mullins, who was shot in the stomach, was wearing a bulletproof vest. He was treated for minor injuries at Bluefield Medical Center and released, Sgt. Conroy said.
Officials placed Bluefield College and a high school and middle school in Bluefield, Va., and four middle and elementary schools in West Virginia on lockdown Friday. Bluefield straddles the Virginia- Tennessee line.
Authorities across three states spent the weekend on the lookout for the suspects.
On Friday, Deputy Mullins stopped a stopped a white Mitsubishi on U.S. 460 at about 6:40 a.m., Sgt. Conroy said. Inside the car were two men and a woman suspected of robbing two convenience stores earlier in Tazewell County, Sheriff H.S. Caudill said.