[THIRTY-WEATHER]
[ANCHOR=KIMBERLY]
[NEWSCAST=CUTIN]
[WRITER=KMC]
[TAPE #=]
[GRAPHIC=]
[CK/WX PRO=]
MAPS
[SUPER=X5000; set dissolve]
[SUPER=314-Mostly Sunny & Hot/Low Humidity/88-92/Variable/Cloudiness/60-65;]
[SUPER=315-Mostly Sunny/Very Warm/82-86/Partly Cloudy/Showers Late/52-56;]
[SUPER=#555; reset]
[cutopen]
[SUPER=19-Melanie/Moon;]
[7E-Roanoke-Fire]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=am cutin]
[WRITER=djo]
[TAPE#=98-36]
[GRAPHIC=Fatal Fire]
Six people are confirmed dead from yesterday's apartment fire in downtown Roanoke.
Authorities suspect arson because the blaze spread so quickly through the three-story building.
Police also are trying to
determine whether there's a connection between the fire and a fatal shooting.
David Johnson reports.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=HEAVY EQUIPMENT WAS]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/Yesterday; :01]
[SUPER=01-Thomas Tyree/Roanoke City Battalion Chief; :24]
[SUPER=04-Yesterday Morning; :40]
[SUPER=07-Mary Ellen Steiner; :57]
[SUPER=01-Winston Simmons/Roanoke City Deputy Chief; 1:18]
[SUPER=@David1; 1:35]
[RUNS=1:44]
[OUT Q=djo, News 7.]
((Heavy equipment was brought in to help investgators in their search for victims from the fire. From the start there were four people unaccounted for. By mid afternoon the bodies of three men and a woman had been recovered. Shortly after 7:30 PM, another woman's body was taken from the wreckage. Because of unconfirmed reports of other possible victims, the search goes on.
[IN Q=A LOT OF TIMES]
((THOMAS TYREE/ROANOKE CITY BATTALION CHIEF; A LOT OF TIMES YOU HAVE PEOPLE STAYING OVER NOT ACCOUNTED FOR. SO IT'S BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY. SO WE'LL TURN ALL THE RUBBLE OVER AND DO A COMPLETE SEARCH AND MAKE SURE ALL THE VICTIMS ARE RECOVERED BEFORE WE FINISH THE OPERATION.))
[OUT Q=THE OPERATION.]
A man with burns over 60-percent of his body was taken to UVA's medical center. He did not survive.
It was earlier reported that the building's smoke detectors and fire escape were operable. But a woman who considered living in the apartment complex disputes the building inspector's findings.
[IN Q=THERE IS NO WAY]
((MARY ELLEN STEINER; THERE IS NO WAY THIS MAN HAD ANYTHING PROPER WHATSOEVER IN THE WAY OF FIRE FOR THESE PEOPLE. IF HE DID NO ONE WOULD HAVE DIED. IF THE SMOKE DETECTORS WORKED, IF THERE WAS A FIRE ESCAPE, NOBODY WOULD HAVE DIED IN THIS FIRE.))
[OUT Q=IN THIS FIRE.]
Whether arson is the cause of the fire is still at question.
Until they know for sure, investigators are labeling the blaze as "suspicious".
[IN Q=WE HAVE TAKEN]
((WINSTON SIMMONS/ROANOKE CITY DEPUTY CHIEF; WE HAVE TAKEN SAMPLES AS WE'VE GONE ALONG, AS WE'VE FOUND INDIVIDUAL BODIES. WE'VE TAKEN SAMPLES FROM AROUND THE BODIES. AS WE HAVE LOOKED AND SAW SOMETHING SUSPICIOUS, WE TAKE SAMPLES OF THAT AREA. SO THESE WILL BE SENT OFF TO THE LAB.))
[OUT Q=TO THE LAB.]
[STAND-UP]
((DAVID JOHNSON/REPORTING; OFFICIALS HOPE THE RESULTS OF THOSE TESTS HELP TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF THE FIRE. MEANWHILE THE SEARCH FOR MORE CLUES AND VICTIMS WILL CONTINUE. DAVID JOHNSON, NEWS 7.))))
[7Cruz]
[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=am cutin]
[WRITER=tte]
[TAPE#=98-50]
[GRAPHIC=Javier Cruz]
A drug dealer turned government informant has fled to South America.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/File Tape;]
Javier Cruz is reportedly in Colombia.
The drug trafficker was set to be sentenced in July.
He's been free on bond for the past six years in exchange for helping the government nab other cocaine dealers.
Cruz apparently called his probation officer from Colombia and said he did not want to spend ten years in prison.
Cruz's attorney says he never tried to run before.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 18:04:22]
[IN Q=The surprising thing]
((BILL CLEAVELAND/CRUZ'S ATTORNEY: THE SURPRISING THING IS WHEN HE WAS WORKING UNDERCOVER, HE COULD HAVE RUN THEN. BECAUSE HE HAD A LARGE HEART AND HE COMMITTED HIS WORD AND WAS LOYAL TO HIS WORD THEN, HE SAID HE'S BE THERE AND HE WAS.))
[SUPER=01-Bill Cleaveland/Cruz's Attorney;]
[RUNS=:15]
[OUT Q=and he was]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Cleaveland thinks he can convince Cruz to return to Roanoke in time for his sentencing.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[SS=none]
But federal officials have requested a warrant for his arrest.
Colombia does NOT have an extradition agreement with the U-S so it does NOT have to turn Cruz in.
[7WEATHER]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=CUTIN]
[WRITER=KMC]
[TAPE #=]
[GRAPHIC=]
Taking a look now at your Tuesday forecast...
expect mostly sunny skies as temperatures continue to rise today. Look for high's in the low-90's.
Some clouds move in tonight, and lows will only drop into the mid-60's.
Looking ahead to the extended forecast...
[CK/WX PRO=]
MAPS
[SUPER=X5000; set dissolve]
[SUPER=314-Mostly Sunny & Hot/Low Humidity/88-92/Variable/Cloudiness/60-65;]
[SUPER=#555; reset]
[7BIRTHDAYS!] 5/20/98
Wednesday:
[SUPER=130-8/Michelle Edwards/Roanoke]
[SUPER=130-2/Andrew Thompson/Floyd]
[SUPER=130-4/Victoria Langhorn/Roanoke]
[SUPER=130-1/Angelica Byrd/Draper]
[SUPER=130-65/Liz Crawford/Clifton Forge]
[SUPER=130-95/Evelyn Edwards/Roanoke]
[SUPER=130-16/Zach Collins/Salem]
[SUPER=130-6/Cole Edwards/Martinsville]
[SUPER=130-1/Logan Fox/Lexington]
[SUPER=130-6/Clay Ford/Millboro]
[SUPER=130-5/Michael Nichols/Roanoke]
[SUPER=130-16/Derek Keiser/Buena Vista]
Anniversary:
[SUPER=130-3rd/Johnathan & Amy Jackson/Vinton]
No Pictures:
[SUPER=131-/Jamie Belcher/Snow Creek]
[SUPER=131-/Jerry Brammer/Rocky Mount]
[SUPER=131-40/David Bolejack/Christiansburg]
[SUPER=131-16/Trena Ferguson/Stewartsville]
[SUPER=131-56/Ralph Poff/Roanoke]
[cutopen]
[SUPER=19-Melanie/Moon;]
[45E-Fire-folo]
[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=am cutin]
[WRITER=eea]
[TAPE#=98-32 33:35]
[GRAPHIC=Fatal Fire]
Yesterday's apartment fire in downtown Roanoke claimed six lives.
Authorities suspect arson and are trying to determine whether there's a connection with a fatal shooting hours before the fire.
The blaze left several people homeless.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]
Red Cross officials say about 20 people have asked them for help.
Liza Sowers lost everything in the fire, even her shoes.
She says she was used to be homeless, but was getting back on her feet.
n Now she's back where she started.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[TIMECODE=1:59:02]
[IN Q=after a year]
((LIZA SOWERS/ FIRE VICTIM; AFTER A YEAR BEING OUT ON THE STREET, AND NOW IT SEEMS LIKE I WORKED MY WAY UP THE LADDER, WORKED SO HARD TO GET THERE, ONCE YOU DO YOU FEEL GOOD ABOUT IT BECAUSE YOU WORKED SO HARD TO GET THERE, AND SOMEBODY ELSE TAKES IT AWAY OVER SOMETHING SO STUPID.))
[SUPER=01-Liza Sowers/Fire Victim;]
[RUNS=:13]
[OUT Q=so stupid]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
The Red Cross is working to find clothing and shelter for the fire victims.
They say anyone who wants to help can make a financial donation.
(------------)
[455-Ortiz]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=598-21 37:41]
[GRAPHIC=Miguel Ortiz]
A Roanoke man has pleaded "no contest" in a capital murder case.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]
Miguel Ortiz did not dispute the facts presented in court yesterday morning, though he stood on the witness stand and gave the judge a disjointed account of the incident.
He admitted going to the Carew Apartments April first,
--- that he saw the bodies of Sharon and Deborah Casey.
He also talaked about holding the hand of his dead girlfriend.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 7:05]
[IN Q=The thing]
[SUPER=07-Miquel Ortiz;]
[RUNS=:14]
[OUT Q=picking on women, aren't you?]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[GRAPHIC=none]
Commonwealth's attorney Don Caldwell did not ask for the death penalty, recognizing that Judge Cliff Weckstein (Weck-STINE) did not impose a death sentence in the Robbie May case.
Weckstein gave Ortiz three LIFE terms, plus 13 years for firearms offenses.
[45E-Hedrick]
[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=am cutin]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#98-45 10:06]
[GRAPHIC=Hedrick]
A death sentence could be facing a Lynchburg man if he's convicted of murder in Appomattox County.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Appomattox]
19-year old Brandon Wayne Hedrick is accused of abducting, raping, robbing and murdering Lisa Yvonne Crider last May.
Crider's body was found in the James River near the Bent Creek section of Appomattox County.
She died of a shotgun blast to the head.
Hedrick told police he was only trying to scare Crider when he fired the gun.
His week- long trial got underway yesterday morning.
Prosecutor Tommy Lawson is seeking the death penalty.
(----------------)
[45E-Williams]
[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=am cutin]
[WRITER=THa]
[TAPE#598-15 36:05]
[GRAPHIC=legal scales]
A Giles County supervisor is set to make a court appearance next month.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Giles Co./February 19;]
Bobby Williams, shown here at a supervisors' meeting in February, is facing charges related to an illegally taped phone conversation.
He attempted suicide the day the grand jury returned the indictment.
A motion's hearing is set for June 5th.
Williams is asking to have his trial moved out of Giles County because of media publicity not only about the felony charges but also his attempted suicide.
Three others are also charged in connection with the alleged crime.
Williams is also asking for a separate trial from the other defendants.
(----------------)
[45E-Twin-Falls]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=tte]
[TAPE#=98-33 44:09]
[GRAPHIC=None]
A medical examiner says a young Roanoke woman who fell to her death at Twin Falls died from head injuries.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Floyd Co.;]
Nineteen year old Lindsey Bayne of Roanoke County was hiking with friends at the Falls in Floyd County early Sunday evening.
Witnesses say when she stopped to pick a flower, she slipped and fell 300 feet into a creek.
Rescue workers say people have died in the past after slipping on slick mossy rocks- as they stop to peer over the waterfall.
But this is the first in the last ten years -- rescue workers say the fatalities dropped off after the Nature Conservancy posted trespassing signs.
(------------)
[45WEATHER]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=CUTIN]
[WRITER=KMC]
[TAPE #=]
[GRAPHIC=]
Turning your attention now to the hot forecast--
Mostly sunny today, with fairly low humidity.
Highs reaching 90.
Variable cloudiness overnight, with lows cooling off into the low to mid 60s.
The four day outlook stays sunny and hot-- with showers possible again by Saturday.
[SUPER=X5000; set dissolve]
[SUPER=314-Mostly Sunny & Hot/Low Humidity/88-92/Variable/Cloudiness/60-65;]
[SUPER=#555; reset]
[cutopen]
[SUPER=19-Melanie/Moon;]
[8E-Roanoke-Fire]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=am cutin]
[WRITER=djo]
[TAPE#=98-36]
[GRAPHIC=Fatal Fire]
The death count stands at six following yesterday's apartment blaze in downtown Roanoke.
Arson is suspected.
Authorities are also trying to determine whether the fire is connected with a fatal shooting that occured just a few hours before the fire.
David Johnson reports.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=HEAVY EQUIPMENT WAS]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/Yesterday; :01]
[SUPER=01-Thomas Tyree/Roanoke City Battalion Chief; :24]
[SUPER=04-Yesterday Morning; :40]
[SUPER=07-Mary Ellen Steiner; :57]
[SUPER=01-Winston Simmons/Roanoke City Deputy Chief; 1:18]
[SUPER=@David1; 1:35]
[RUNS=1:44]
[OUT Q=djo, News 7.]
((Heavy equipment was brought in to help investgators in their search for victims from the fire. From the start there were four people unaccounted for. By mid afternoon the bodies of three men and a woman had been recovered. Shortly after 7:30 PM, another woman's body was taken from the wreckage. Because of unconfirmed reports of other possible victims, the search goes on.
[IN Q=A LOT OF TIMES]
((THOMAS TYREE/ROANOKE CITY BATTALION CHIEF; A LOT OF TIMES YOU HAVE PEOPLE STAYING OVER NOT ACCOUNTED FOR. SO IT'S BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY. SO WE'LL TURN ALL THE RUBBLE OVER AND DO A COMPLETE SEARCH AND MAKE SURE ALL THE VICTIMS ARE RECOVERED BEFORE WE FINISH THE OPERATION.))
[OUT Q=THE OPERATION.]
A man with burns over 60-percent of his body was taken to UVA's medical center. He did not survive.
It was earlier reported that the building's smoke detectors and fire escape were operable. But a woman who considered living in the apartment complex disputes the building inspector's findings.
[IN Q=THERE IS NO WAY]
((MARY ELLEN STEINER; THERE IS NO WAY THIS MAN HAD ANYTHING PROPER WHATSOEVER IN THE WAY OF FIRE FOR THESE PEOPLE. IF HE DID NO ONE WOULD HAVE DIED. IF THE SMOKE DETECTORS WORKED, IF THERE WAS A FIRE ESCAPE, NOBODY WOULD HAVE DIED IN THIS FIRE.))
[OUT Q=IN THIS FIRE.]
Whether arson is the cause of the fire is still at question.
Until they know for sure, investigators are labeling the blaze as "suspicious".
[IN Q=WE HAVE TAKEN]
((WINSTON SIMMONS/ROANOKE CITY DEPUTY CHIEF; WE HAVE TAKEN SAMPLES AS WE'VE GONE ALONG, AS WE'VE FOUND INDIVIDUAL BODIES. WE'VE TAKEN SAMPLES FROM AROUND THE BODIES. AS WE HAVE LOOKED AND SAW SOMETHING SUSPICIOUS, WE TAKE SAMPLES OF THAT AREA. SO THESE WILL BE SENT OFF TO THE LAB.))
[OUT Q=TO THE LAB.]
[STAND-UP]
((DAVID JOHNSON/REPORTING; OFFICIALS HOPE THE RESULTS OF THOSE TESTS HELP TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF THE FIRE. MEANWHILE THE SEARCH FOR MORE CLUES AND VICTIMS WILL CONTINUE. DAVID JOHNSON, NEWS 7.))))
[8Cruz]
[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=am cutin]
[WRITER=tte]
[TAPE#=98-50]
[GRAPHIC=Javier Cruz]
A D-E-A informant who's lived in the Roanoke Valley for several years is on the run.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/File Tape;]
Javier Cruz is reportedly in Colombia.
The drug trafficker was set to be sentenced in July.
He's been free on bond for the past six years in exchange for helping the government nab other cocaine dealers.
Cruz apparently called his probation officer from Colombia and said he did not want to spend ten years in prison.
Cruz's attorney says he never tried to run before.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 18:04:22]
[IN Q=The surprising thing]
((BILL CLEAVELAND/CRUZ'S ATTORNEY: THE SURPRISING THING IS WHEN HE WAS WORKING UNDERCOVER, HE COULD HAVE RUN THEN. BECAUSE HE HAD A LARGE HEART AND HE COMMITTED HIS WORD AND WAS LOYAL TO HIS WORD THEN, HE SAID HE'S BE THERE AND HE WAS.))
[SUPER=01-Bill Cleaveland/Cruz's Attorney;]
[RUNS=:15]
[OUT Q=and he was]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Cleaveland thinks he can convince Cruz to return to Roanoke in time for his sentencing.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[SS=none]
But federal officials have requested a warrant for his arrest.
Colombia does NOT have an extradition agreement with the U-S so it does NOT have to turn Cruz in.
[8WEATHER]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=CUTIN]
[WRITER=KMC]
[TAPE #=]
[GRAPHIC=]
Your Tuesday outlook stays hot and sunny.
Temperatures will climb to around 90 degrees, but humidity levels should be low.
Meantime, the temperatures cool off into the lower 60s overnight with variable clouds.
And taking a look ahead...no relief from the heat until later this week.
[SUPER=X5000; set dissolve]
[SUPER=314-Mostly Sunny & Hot/Low Humidity/88-92/Variable/Cloudiness/60-65;]
[SUPER=#555; reset]
by SS