Monthly Archive for March, 2008

From the Progress and the Waynesboro News Virginian, some addition developments in the case of yesterday’s shootings on Route 64:

• Charges have now been filed against Slade Woodson and an unnamed 16-year-old in the case, “Dumb” in the “Dumb and Dumber” duo. Felony malicious wounding, using a firearm in the commission of a felony and maliciously shooting at an occupied vehicle are just the beginning of what will surely be a heaping serving of legal trouble for the pair. They’re facing twenty charges between the two of them.
• The house the duo shot up was the home of Woodson’s apparent nemesis, a fellow student whose questioning by police last year led to Woodson’s prior conviction. This is not the first time Woodson has made a scene at the household — he’s a regular there
• Not content to merely abandon his own laughably recognizable vehicle — a bright orange 1974 Gremlin — that he’d used for the crime spree, Woodson left the .22 shell casings in the vehicle, which were recovered by police. No doubt his fingerprints are all over them.
• The guy shot by police at the time of the arrest this morning is in stable condition, but his identity and specific condition hasn’t been revealed.
• The injuries sustained by the two occupants of vehicles were slight enough that police suspect they might have been caused by shards of glass from the shot-out windows rather than the bullet themselves.

For those of y’all who aren’t familiar with firearms, a .22 is the smallest caliber bullet you’re likely to come across. Both handguns and rifles commonly fire .22s. They have so little powder in them that there’s very little recoil, making it simple to aim a weapon that takes this cartridge. If you had to pick a caliber to be shot in the shoulder with, this would be the way to go. But though it might be small, it’ll punch right through the side of a car and, once it starts to tumble, tear up anybody in its way. Jackson Landers (disclosure: my brother) coincidentally explained this on his blog just two days ago.

Though it remains to be seen which law enforcement agency is responsible for this — Albemarle or state — somebody deserves a lot of credit for making an arrest within 30 hours of the first shot being fired. This could have been a source of a lot of fear and anger, but instead it was wrapped up immediately.