DATE: Monday, July 14, 1997                 TAG: 9707140067

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE AND ADAM BERNSTEIN, staff writers 

DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:  112 lines

STING CATCHES MAN WANTED IN SLAYING WOMAN SURVIVES, AND NAMES THE SHOOTER; POLICE SCHEME CATCHES SUSPECT OFF-GUARD

A Chanello's pizza delivery driver, charged with the overnight murder of a co-worker and the shooting of another, was captured early Sunday after police convinced him they needed his help to identify the victims - both of whom he thought were dead.

Lisa Marie Martin, 18, of the 2400 block of Queenswood Road in Portsmouth, is credited with making possible the arrest of Forrest Fisher III, 20.

``Without her, I think he felt he was going to get away with this,'' police spokesman David Hughes said Sunday. ``The way we got him was kind of a sting.''

Martin is recovering in a hospital from her wounds.

The dead man was identified as Jeremiah ``Jay'' Stephenson, 21, of the 500 block of Mount Vernon Ave. in Portsmouth.

Stephenson, the assistant manager of the store, was pronounced dead at the scene. He had worked at the business, one of 28 in Hampton Roads, for more than a year.

And he would not have been there early Sunday had he not agreed to cover for a co-worker who needed the night off.

``He was always willing to come in if we needed help,'' said Chet Blair, a Chanello's vice president. ``Even if it was off the clock, he'd do it. He was just an outstanding worker.''

Police charged Fisher, of the 1200 block of Dewberry Drive in Chesapeake, with one count each of capital murder, attempted capital murder, use of a firearm in commission of murder, use of a firearm in attempted murder and two counts of armed robbery.

He is being held without bond at the city jail and faces arraignment this morning in General District Court.

The gun used in the robbery and murder has not yet been recovered.

The incident occurred about 3 a.m., just after the Chanello's Pizza store in the 3700 block of Bainbridge Blvd. closed.

Hughes said Fisher returned to the store from his last delivery and confronted Stephenson in a back room as he counted the night's receipts.

``We believe there may have been a struggle with'' Stephenson, Hughes said. Police would not say where or how many times the victim had been shot. His body was found in the back room.

Martin told police that she walked in as Fisher was leaving and that he shot her, Hughes said.

``We felt he believed he had killed both of them,'' Hughes said. But Martin - a telephone order clerk who had started work at the store a few months ago - remained conscious. She called police and identified her assailant to officers when they arrived.

Police initially withheld details of what had happened, fearful that the gunman might learn through the media that someone who could identify him was still alive.

Using employment records on Fisher and information from his boss, ``We found a phone number where he could be reached, and we called,'' Hughes said.

Fisher didn't answer, but a friend did. Police began to set their trap. They told the person that people had been shot at the pizza shop and that they were concerned for Fisher's well-being.

The friend said he believed he could reach Fisher and would try to contact him and tell him to call police, Hughes said.

It worked. A short time later, Fisher was on the phone with the police. The plan moved into the next stage.

``We told him we wanted to make certain he was OK and that he was not a hostage,'' Hughes said. ``He said he was fine.''

Hughes said the police officer then told Fisher that he had some bad news for him: ``Two of your co-workers have been killed and we don't know who they are.''

Fisher was told his help was needed to identify them so police could contact their families.

``We somewhat inflated his ego,'' Hughes said. ``We told him how his manager had recommended that he could help us. We asked if he could come back and he said he would.''

Fisher agreed.

A few minutes later, just before 9 a.m., police officers watching the area where they suspected Fisher might be saw him come out of an apartment and get into a car with several other people. Moments later, they stopped the car and arrested Fisher without incident.

``It's a shock to me,'' said a Virginia Beach woman who says she is Fisher's grandmother but would not give her name. ``This boy is not this type of boy.''

Fisher's parents, who live in Chesapeake, declined comment.

The Chanello's store has been closed temporarily, said Blair, the vice president. A memorial wreath of yellow flowers was hung in the window Sunday afternoon.

All area stores will close Wednesday for Stephenson's funeral. The business also is making arrangements to provide counseling for employees who ask for help.

While pizza delivery workers have long been a target of criminals, police said it was somewhat unusual to have the business itself robbed.

Fisher was hired within the past few weeks to deliver pizzas, the company said.

Blair said he ran a check of the new hire's past, but found no criminal history on Fisher.

The company began routinely checking the backgrounds of prospective employees earlier this year after learning that it had hired several people with criminal records.

A spate of robberies in Norfolk's Larchmont and Edgewater sections last winter raised concerns in those communities that the crimes were committed by Chanello's employees hired to hang fliers door-to-door. Of the 16 youths employed by the Virginia Beach-based chain, 15 had records for crimes such as as burglary, robbery and attempted murder.

None of the teen-agers, however, was charged with the winter robberies. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

Forrest Fisher III is suspected of killing one and injuring another

during a holdup at a Chanello's pizza restaurant.

Graphic

Chesapeake

Area Shown: Shooting Site: Chanello's Pizza 3715 Bainbridge Blvd.

For complete copy, see microfilm KEYWORDS: MURDER SHOOTING ARREST

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