Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 3, 1990 TAG: 9006030133
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RON BROWN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
Sheriff Carl Wells said Clayton Jahue Fore, 49, died about 10:30 p.m. near a driveway off Virginia 619 in the Jordantown community.
He appeared to have been shot once in the chest with a handgun, Wells said.
Beattie Ervin Coe, 40, of Route 3, Vinton, was arrested at his home early Saturday and charged with murder and use of a firearm in connection with the killing.
He was released on bond, Wells said.
A woman who answered the telephone at Coe's home said Coe would not comment on the shooting under the advice of his attorney.
A relative at the Fore home said Fore had gone to pick up the backhoe with his cousin when the argument started.
Fore was attempting to load the backhoe on the back of a truck when he was shot.
Fore, a heavy equipment operator for the Virginia Department of Highways and Transportation, was planning to use the equipment for some yardwork Saturday, the relative said.
Fore's body was sent to the medical examiner's office in Roanoke for an autopsy.
Wells would not discuss a motive for the shooting.
***CORRECTION***
Published correction ran on June 5, 1990\ Correction
Because of a reporter's error, a story published Sunday reported that a Bedford man was shot and killed during an argument over a backhoe. There was no argument over a backhoe, authorities say.
Memo: correction