VIRGINIA SNIPERS: SLADE WOODSON,19, SECOND TEEN,16, ARRESTED

AP / March 27: Virginia State Police investigate the scene of a shooting on Greenwood Station Road, near Crozet.

Slade Allen Woodson/ Virginia State Police Photo
Virginia Police Arrest Teens Linked to Random Shootings, Including Interstate
FoxNews/ Saturday, March 29, 2008

Two Virginia teenagers have been charged with several felonies in connection with a shooting spree along Interstate 64.

Authorities believe a pair of troublemaking teens were behind a series of random shootings in an area where memories of the Washington-area sniper shootings six years ago are still fresh.

One of the suspects, Slade Allen Woodson, 19, of Afton, Va., was taken into custody Friday morning. The other has been identified only as a 16-year-old boy from Crozet, Va.

They each face 10 felony counts that include malicious wounding and maliciously shooting at an occupied vehicle.

"We've taken some mighty big steps toward the resolution of this," Flaherty said at a news conference Friday. "Everyone can, I think, rest compared to the state that we were in overnight."

Investigators said they now believe the shootings that slightly injured two drivers were part of a long night of random gunfire in which the pair also shot at a credit union and a residence.

Woodson was charged in the shootings at the home and the credit union, as well as shootings along the Interstate 64 highway. He and the other teen were charged with two felony counts of malicious wounding, one count of attempted malicious wounding, two counts of the use of a firearm in a felony and five counts of maliciously shooting at an occupied vehicle.

State and county police searched Yonder Hill Farm near Crozet in Albemarle County just before 5 a.m. Friday. Another person confronted them with a handgun and was shot by a county law enforcement officer, police said. Woodson was taken into custody, and the man was taken to a hospital. It wasn't immediately clear whether the other person was the 16-year-old.

WHY DID THESE TWO TEENS TRY TO KILL?
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,342748,00.html

UPDATE...

ATF: Tests link casings to Va. suspect

USA Today/ Saturday, March 29, 2008

RICHMOND, Va.(AP) — Shell casings recovered near a series of six highway shootings in Virginia match casings found inside a suspect's vehicle, state police said Saturday.

The random shootings along Interstate 64 and potshots taken at a credit union and a home early Thursday led investigators to shut down a 20-mile stretch of the highway between Waynesboro and Charlottesville, reopening it around dawn. Two people were slightly injured.

The shootings stirred memories of the Washington-area sniper shootings six years ago that killed 10 people.

The ballistic analysis by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives linked shell casings from a Ruger .22-caliber magnum rifle to casings found near the interstate and in a 1974 AMC Gremlin owned by Slade Allen Woodson, 19, of Afton. The weapon was seized at a farm in Crozet where Woodson was arrested Friday. Authorities also charged a 16-year-old from Crozet whose name was not released.

READ...

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-03-29-va-shootings_N.htm

STEVEN SUEPPEL: KILLS FAMILY OF FIVE, COMMITS SUICIDE

Steven and Sheryl Sueppel with their children.

Police identified the children as Ethan, 10; Seth, 8; Mira, 5; and Eleanor, 3.
Suicidal Iowa Man's 911 Call,
Other DetailsOffer Possible Answers to Brutal Family Killings
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Associated Press

IOWA CITY, Iowa — An embattled former bank executive committed suicide by crashing his van after killing his wife and making failed attempts to asphyxiate their four children in a garage, then slaying them individually, authorities said Tuesday.

Steven Sueppel, who had been charged with embezzlement, was missing after his family's bodies were discovered Monday morning. His van was found wrecked and ablaze on Interstate 80 about nine miles away, and police said they used dental records to identify the burned body inside as Sueppel's.

(snip)

Sueppel left a long note in the family's kitchen addressed to no one in particular. He also left voice mail messages at the family's home, at the bank where he once worked and at the law office of his father and brother.

One of the messages indicated Sueppel believed his family was in heaven, Steffen said.

"He did indicate in his note that ever since his problems came to light that he was having trouble dealing with this issue, but again no specific incident or cause was identified as to why it happened now," Steffen said. "He apologized ... numerous times."

Police identified the children as Ethan, 10; Seth, 8; Mira, 5; and Eleanor, 3.

(snip)

Court records show that Steven Sueppel, 42, was indicted last month on charges of stealing about $560,000 from Hills Bank and Trust in Johnson County, where he was vice president and controller.

He pleaded not guilty to embezzlement and money laundering in U.S. District Court and was released on a $250,000 personal bond. The government was also seeking the forfeiture of the money he was accused of stealing.

CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS STORY!
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,341530,00.html

ALASKA RANGER: SEATTLE FISHING BOAT SINKS OFF DUTCH HARBOR

A crew member of the Alaska Ranger is taken on board the Coast Guard Cutter Munro. The Alaska Ranger began taking on water 120 miles west of Dutch Harbor. (March 23, 2008)
Credit: U.S. Coast Guard

The Alaska Ranger is seen at a port in Dutch Harbor, Jan. 2006. The Coast Guard said four crew members died Sunday, March 23, 2008, and another was missing after the 184-foot Alaska Ranger began sinking in high seas off Alaska's Aleutian Islands. (AP Photo/Jim Paulin)

The Ranger's sister ship, the Warrior (Courtesy photo)
Four dead, one missing after boat sinks off Alaskan coast
Sunday, March 23, 2008 10:47 PM
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A fishing boat sank off Alaska's Aleutian Islands today, leaving four crew members including the captain dead and another missing, the Coast Guard said.

Forty-two of the 47 crew members on board the Seattle-based Alaska Ranger were rescued, but the search continued for the missing person, said Chief Petty Officer Barry Lane.

The 184-foot vessel started taking on water shortly before 3 a.m. after losing control of its rudder 120 miles west of Dutch Harbor, which is on Unalaska Island.

In a statement, the ship's owner, the Fishing Company of Alaska, said it did "not have sufficient information to determine why the vessel foundered."

Seas with up to 8-foot waves and 25-knot winds were reported at the time the ship sank, Lane said. The Coast Guard was investigating the cause of the sinking, he said.

The company identified those killed as ship's captain Eric Peter Jacobsen, chief engineer Daniel Cook, mate David Silveira and crewman Byron Carrillo.

"They were incredibly brave, hard-working men. Our hearts are broken," the company said. The men's ages and hometowns were not released.

(snip)

The Coast Guard also told harbor officials to have an ambulance ready, but didn't specify the degree or nature of any injuries, Harvey said.

"I figure there's quite a bit of hypothermia going on," he said.

The Alaska Ranger is owned by Seattle-based Fishing Company of Alaska.

VERY SAD STORY FROM ALASKA...

http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/03/23/alaska.html

CHOMP: I feel such pain over this tragedy. I work with people who work with Anchorage and Dutch Harbor. I watch the Crab Boat shows on tv, and see how dangerous a job they have. Some of these boats come into Seattle after crabbing season. This vessel was based in Seattle, and the heroic Captain and his family live just north of Seattle.