Drug Lead in West Virginia Shootings

"Police investigating the murders of three people shot dead outside convenience shops in West Virginia last week are pursuing a possible drugs connection, officials said last night.

House-to-house inquiries in the rural community of Campbells Creek has allowed the police to narrow hundreds of tip-offs to 10 serious lines of inquiry, investigators said.

Several people suggested a link to the increasing sale and use of drugs in the area, but the police would not comment further on whether the victims were thought to be linked to drugs or to the sniper...

The police are searching for a heavy-set white man who was seen driving a dark pick-up truck which has been spotted at two of the crime scenes. "

Full story:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usguns/Story/0,2763,1022244,00.html

I'm not from there, but surely there are a few fat white men with pick-ups in West Virginia?

By the way - the Guardian seems to have a "usguns" section on the website now.

P.

No wonder Heston doesn't remember anything.

--bought the DVD at Target. That interview with Heston was worth the $19.99 by itself. He had no answer to the question why he chose Flint, MI to hold an NRA rally just after the school shooting of the 6-yr-old. The scene of him walking away from Moore, refusing to talk any more, was amazing.

(snip) I'm not from there, but surely there are a few fat white men with pick-ups in West Virginia? (snip/)

A possible link to the killer. I'm too shy to post the actual photo on this thread:

http://home.hiwaay.net/~pcasteel/aubdriver.htm

See photo at bottom of page.

West Virginia sniper shootings probed; ballistic tests show two match


(Charleston, West Virginia-AP) -- Bullets from two of the three West Virginia sniper shootings have been matched to the same gun.

That's what the chief deputy in Kanawha (kuh-NAW') County tells a Charleston newspaper. Tests on the third victim aren't complete.

Two people were killed Thursday in shootings that occurred 90 minutes apart at convenience stores ten miles from each other. The other victim was killed four days earlier.

Investigators are sifting through hundreds of tips looking for solid leads.

Some people who live in the area don't think the shootings are random. They say police should explore a link between the shootings and the sale of methamphetamines in the area. (snip/...)

http://www.fox6.com/news/national/story.aspx?content_id=2B83887C-7414-4B6A-B33D-909D661C02E5

Nope, not a terrorist thing like in DC, everyone rest easy. Its just drug wars, and we know that we can't win those despite the billions of dollars wasted annually on THAT fiasco. The drug war gets a nice back to school bump and * is off scot-free for his incompetence in reducing terrorism, either domestic or foreign.

that none of the victims had a connection to drugs or was known to be a drug user. Some of the relatives were very angry for being asked, and I don't blame them. Frankly, I fail to understand why anyone is bringing up the drug angle at this point, it all seems tenuous and circumstantial.

It took a day to find this story, but it responds well to your remark(!):

(snip) I'm not from there, but surely there are a few fat white men with pick-ups in West Virginia?(snip/)



Finding Suspects in Sniper-Style Slayings Tough in W.Va. Where Pickup Trucks and Rifles Rule
By Joedy McCreary Associated Press Writer
Published: Aug 21, 2003


CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - Rifles and pickups go together in West Virginia, so finding a sniper suspect driving a flatbed Ford in the hills and valleys around the capital is a difficult task - at best.
Based on eyewitness accounts, investigators are looking for a dark-colored, two-tone Ford F-150 extended cab pickup that was seen at two of three recent sniper-style shootings in the area.

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. Authorities say both shots probably came from a .22-caliber rifle - the most popular style of small-caliber rifle in the state.

"It would have been more beneficial to us if it had been an uncommon weapon and an uncommon vehicle," Kanawha County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Phil Morris said Wednesday.

Ford F-150s are popular in the state, accounting for more than 2,600 sales last year, according to the West Virginia Automotive and Truck Dealers Association. It ranks as the second most stolen vehicle in West Virginia, behind the Chevrolet Cavalier, the National Insurance Crime Bureau says. (snip/...)

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGACGOUEMJD.html

A 1996 Ford f-150, from google.image. Yaaaay! Don't tell us you've got one just like it: