WDBJ 7 morning news AM cutins for 04/08/99

[7Murder-Folo]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]

[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=sgo]
[TAPE#99-4 1:36:17]
[GRAPHIC=Axton Murder]

The manhunt is on for Michael Anthony Ramey, after a convenience store robbery that left one woman dead and two others injured.
As Scott Goldberg reports, Henry County authorities say Ramey is considered armed and dangerous.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Cars lined up]
[SUPER=03-Axton; :00]
[SUPER=01-Sylvia Hairston/Ramey's Neighbor; :47]
[SUPER=@Scott1; 1:01]
[RUNS=1:17]
[OUT Q=SG,N7,HENRY COUNTY.]
(( Cars lined up outside Susan Hylton's home Wednesday evening.
Friends and family remembering the wife and mother who was gunned down at the convenience store where she worked.
Her husband, a member of the Axton rescue squad, was one of the first at the crime scene.
He saw his 38-year-old wife's body, a bullet in the back of her head.
It happened late Tuesday night.
Police say 35-year-old Michael Anthony Ramey was arguing with his girlfriend, Dale Wilson Cobb.
She also works at Taylor's Little Grocery.
The argument moved inside, where Ramey allegedly told Cobb, Susan Hylton and a third co-worker to lie face down.
Police say he shot all three, robbed the store and ran.
Ramey and Cobb live together at this Martinsville apartment complex.
Neighbor Sylvia Hairston said they moved in a few months ago.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=it was]
((SYLVIA HAIRSTON: IT WAS SHOCKING. IT WAS REALLY SHOCKING BECAUSE THEY SEEMED TO BE GOOD NEIGHBORS. THEY REALLY DID.
THE SPOKE COMING OUT OF THE APARTMENTS. NO ARGUING OR ANYTHING. WE THOUGHT EVERYTHING WOULD BE ALL RIGHT.)) [RUNS13]
[OUT Q=ALL RIGHT]
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=RAMEY'S GIRLFRIEND]
((SCOTT GOLDBERG: RAMEY'S GIRLFRIEND COBB IS OUT OF THE HOSPITAL, SURVIVING A GUNSHOT WOUND TO THE SHOULDER. THE THIRD WOMAN, PAMELA RISALINI WAS TREATED AND REALEASED AND RELATIVES SAY SHE'S DOING FINE. IF AUTHORITIES CATCH RAMEY, THEY'LL CHARGE HIM WITH NINE FELONIES, ONE OF THEM IS CAPITAL MURDER. SCOTT GOLDBERG, NEWS-7, HENRY COUNTY.))
[RUNS=]
[OUT Q=HENRY COUNTY]))
(---------------)

[7S-Switched-Babies]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=ejo]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=Switched at Birth]

One of the "switched at birth" babies is on her way to being officially adopted.
(-------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Buena Vista/Monday]

Paula Johnson has filed papers stating her intention to formally adopt Callie Conley.
Johnson's lawyer has already indicated she will also seek custody of her biological child ... Rebecca Chittum.
The two girls were switched at the U-V-A Medical center in 19-95.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[SS=None]

Carlton Conley-- Johnson's former boyfriend and the biological father of Rebecca-- says he doesn't agree with Paula Johnson's decision.
Conley says Rebecca has a good home in with the parents of the couple she was sent home with in 1995 and he thinks she should remain there.
He also says he approves of a two million-dollar settlement reached between the state and the families raising Rebecca.

[7E-Local-Game]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=ssi]
[TAPE#=98-83 2:02:31]
[GRAPHIC=Big Game]
One of the second-place winners in Tuesday's Big Game jackpot wasted no time claiming her earnings.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]
Barbara Dowling of Roanoke won 150-thousand dollars in the Big Game lottery. And for a woman who's out-of-work on disability, it was a great surprise.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=I says yeah]
((BARBARA DOWLING: I SAYS YEAH IT FINALLY TURNED FOR US. ESPECIALLY FOR ME. I'VE BEEN DOWN ALL THE TIME AND STUFF LIKE THAT. AND LIKE I SAY, I'VE NEVER WON ANYTHING, AND I'M VERY HAPPY.))
[SUPER=01-Barbara Dowling/Lotto winner]
[RUNS=:11]
[OUT Q=and I'm very happy.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Dowling spent just two-dollars on the lotto. She plays the lottery so seldom, she thought she had only won a free ticket. But the clerk at the Crystal Springs 7-11 told her she had actually won 150-thousand. Dowling will receive 102-thousand dollars after taxes. She plans to buy a new pair of glasses and a big-screen TV. . . so she can watch her favorite sports.
(------------)

[7WEATHER]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=KMC]
[TAPE #=]
[GRAPHIC=]

Taking a look now at your Thursday forecast..
Another very warm day ahead, as temperatures soar into the low-80s under partly sunny skies.
Some clouds roll in tonight, along with the chance for some showers. Lows in the upper-50s.
The extended forecast...
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MAPS

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[SUPER=314-Partly Sunny/Winds SW 10/78-82/Clouding Up/Chance of Showers/55-60;]
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[7BIRTHDAYS!] 4/9/99
Friday:

[SUPER=130-1/Allison Vass/]

[SUPER=130-11/Tiffanie Perry/Hillsville]

[SUPER=130-3/Danielle Collins/Pulaski]

No Pictures:

[SUPER=131-/Whitt Ferrell/Martinsville]
[cutopen]
[SUPER=19-Melanie/Moon;]

[45E-Bedford-Arrest]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=99-6 1:02:23]
[GRAPHIC=The Internet]

Bedford County arrests another alleged internet pedophile.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Police say 30-year- old Edward Earl Hargon traveled from Harrisonburg yesterday to meet what he thought was going to be a 13-year old boy.
[SUPER=03-Bedford Co.]

He'd actually been communicating with an undercover officer.
Sheriff Mike Brown says his department targets "travelers" like Hargon because they pose the most risk to children.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 5:28:45]
[IN Q=They're more]
((MIKE BROWN/BEDFORD CO. SHERIFF: THEY'RE MORE DANGEROUS, STATISTICS TELL US THAT THESE PEOPLE ARE PRONE TO VIOLENCE, A NUMBER OF INSTANCES OF VIOLENCE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE TRAVELERS.))
[SUPER=01-Mike Brown/Bedford Co. Sheriff; :00]
[RUNS=16]
[OUT Q=with these travelers.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Brown says Hargon will probably be charged with attempted solicitation of a juvenile.
(------------)

[45Walker]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=jmc]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=Walker Arrested]

And Salem police catch one of the state's "Delinquent Dozen." Ernest Williams Walker was wanted for failing to pay thousands of dollars in child support.
He was arrested on Tuesday.
Authorities say Walker owes more than "22-thousand 800" dollars in support payments.

[45S-Evans]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=99-3 1:37:36]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]

There will be no jury seated when Andre Evans stands trial on capital murder charges.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=@File]

The 24-year old could get the death penalty if convicted.
Evans allegedly shot and killed two men during an argument in Bedford in the fall of 1997.
At a motions hearing yesterday, Evans waived his right to a jury trial.
He will undergo two separate psychiatric evaluations before his trial gets underway April 19th.
(------------)

[45Martin]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=tte]
[TAPE#=99-2]
[GRAPHIC=Martin On the Stand]

The woman on trial for allegedly plotting to kill her husband apparently isn't getting much help in the courtroom from her son.
Tina Tenret explains.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Prosecutors say 48-year-old]
[SUPER=03-Botetourt Co.; :00]
[SUPER=01-Dorothea Martin/Defendant; :24]
[SUPER=@Tina1; :53]
[RUNS=1:01]
[OUT Q=Tina Tenret News7 Botetourt County]
(( Prosecutors say 48-year-old Dorothea Martin helped her lover Thomas Gray arranged a murder for hire.
Gray tried to hire a hitman from jail to kill Martin's husband.
So an undercover police officer posed as the hitman and told Martin he was about to kill her husband.
She told him not to do it -- but never called 9-1-1 or her husband.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 16:53:35]
[IN Q=When Sam came home]
((WHEN SAM CAME HOME I ASKED HIM IF HE'D SEEN HIS DAD AND HE SAID YEAH I JUST GOT THROUGH TALKING TO HIM. SO I KNEW JIM WAS OKAY.))
[RUNS= :08]
[OUT Q=Jim was okay]

But her son told attorneys they never discussed his father that night.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 17:29:16]
[IN Q=DID YOU SPEAK]
((DID YOU SPEAK TO YOUR MOTHER WHEN YOU CAME IN? YES. DID YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR FATHER JIM MARTIN? NO.))
[RUNS= :05]
[OUT Q=NO]

Prosecutors say Martin even sent Gray 450-dollars to pay the hitman -- she says it was for his taxes and house payment.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 17:12:07]
[IN Q=All the witnesses]
((ALL THE WITNESSES HAVE NOW BEEN CALLED -- THE JURY IS EXPECTED TO REACH A DECISION TODAY. TINA TENRET NEWS7 BOTETOURT COUNTY.))
[RUNS= :08]
[OUT Q=Tina Tenret News7 Botetourt County]))

[45Holt]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=ssi]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=Murder Investigation]

Henry county police are looking for the person who killed Charles Holt Senior.
The State Forensic lab identified Holt's body yesterday and determined he died from a gunshot wound.
Eight days ago a neighbor heard shots from Holt's home, then saw someone drive off in Holt's 19-86 burgundy Chrysler Fifth Avenue.
The vehicle is still missing.

[45WEATHER]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=KMC]
[TAPE #=]
[GRAPHIC=]

Let's take a break from the news to check the weather--
Partly sunny skies today with highs near 80.
Clouding up tonight, with a chance of showers and lows falling into the upper 50s.
The five day outlook is calling for partly cloudy skies and a chance for showers over the weekend.
Highs in the 50s, lows in the 40s and 50s.
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[SUPER=314-Partly Sunny/Winds SW 10/78-82/Clouding Up/Chance of Showers/55-60;]
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[cutopen]
[SUPER=19-Melanie/Moon;]

[8Murder-Folo]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=sgo]
[TAPE#99-4 1:36:17]
[GRAPHIC=Axton Murder]

Henry County authorities say Michael Anthony Ramey should be considered armed and dangerous.
Ramey is wanted after yesterday's convenience store robbery that left one woman dead and two others injured.
Scott Goldberg reports.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Cars lined up]
[SUPER=03-Axton; :00]
[SUPER=01-Sylvia Hairston/Ramey's Neighbor; :47]
[SUPER=@Scott1; 1:01]
[RUNS=1:17]
[OUT Q=SG,N7,HENRY COUNTY.]

[8Martin]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=tte]
[TAPE#=99-2]
[GRAPHIC=Martin On the Stand]

The Botetourt county woman on trial for allegedly hiring a hitman to kill her husband was NOT helped by her son's testimony.
Tina Tenret has the latest on the trial.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Prosecutors say 48-year-old]
[SUPER=03-Botetourt Co.; :00]
[SUPER=01-Dorothea Martin/Defendant; :24]
[SUPER=@Tina1; :53]
[RUNS=1:01]
[OUT Q=Tina Tenret News7 Botetourt County]
(( Prosecutors say 48-year-old Dorothea Martin helped her lover Thomas Gray arranged a murder for hire.
Gray tried to hire a hitman from jail to kill Martin's husband.
So an undercover police officer posed as the hitman and told Martin he was about to kill her husband.
She told him not to do it -- but never called 9-1-1 or her husband.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 16:53:35]
[IN Q=When Sam came home]
((WHEN SAM CAME HOME I ASKED HIM IF HE'D SEEN HIS DAD AND HE SAID YEAH I JUST GOT THROUGH TALKING TO HIM. SO I KNEW JIM WAS OKAY.))
[RUNS= :08]
[OUT Q=Jim was okay]

But her son told attorneys they never discussed his father that night.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 17:29:16]
[IN Q=DID YOU SPEAK]
((DID YOU SPEAK TO YOUR MOTHER WHEN YOU CAME IN? YES. DID YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR FATHER JIM MARTIN? NO.))
[RUNS= :05]
[OUT Q=NO]

Prosecutors say Martin even sent Gray 450-dollars to pay the hitman -- she says it was for his taxes and house payment.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 17:12:07]
[IN Q=All the witnesses]
((ALL THE WITNESSES HAVE NOW BEEN CALLED -- THE JURY IS EXPECTED TO REACH A DECISION TODAY. TINA TENRET NEWS7 BOTETOURT COUNTY.))
[RUNS= :08]
[OUT Q=Tina Tenret News7 Botetourt County]))

[8E-Local-Game]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=ssi]
[TAPE#=98-83 2:02:31]
[GRAPHIC=Big Game]

She didn't win the BIG jackpot, but a Roanoke woman was excited to win HER prize...
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]
Barbara Dowling won 150-thousand dollars in the Big Game lottery drawing.
And for a woman who's out-of-work on disability, it was a big surprise.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=I says yeah]
((BARBARA DOWLING: I SAYS YEAH IT FINALLY TURNED FOR US. ESPECIALLY FOR ME. I'VE BEEN DOWN ALL THE TIME AND STUFF LIKE THAT. AND LIKE I SAY, I'VE NEVER WON ANYTHING, AND I'M VERY HAPPY.))
[SUPER=01-Barbara Dowling/Lotto winner]
[RUNS=:11]
[OUT Q=and I'm very happy.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Dowling plays the lottery so seldom, she thought she had only won a free ticket.
But the clerk at the Crystal Springs 7-11 told her she had actually won 150-thousand.
She'll get 102-thousand dollars after taxes.
She plans to buy a new pair of glasses and a big-screen TV.
(------------)

[8WEATHER]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=KMC]
[TAPE #=]
[GRAPHIC=]

Checking the forecast now--
Expect partly sunny skies today, with highs near 80.
Clouding up by tonight, with a chance of showers, with lows in the upper 50s.
The five day forecast is partly cloudy, with showers possible over the weekend and continued mild temperatures in the upper 70s.
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