Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 15, 1991 TAG: 9102150430
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: VICTORIA RATCLIFF and/ DOUGLAS PARDUE STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Bondurant said David Fleming Montgomery, 49, is being sought on charges of arson and of arson in the commission of a civil rights violation.
Montgomery is extremely dangerous, based on his record, and he is believed to be armed and wearing body armor at all times, authorities said.
The house, in the Penhook section of Franklin County, was doused with gasoline and set afire last Halloween, authorities said. Montgomery is accused of having been hired by a neighbor who did not want blacks moving in, authorities said.
Authorities refused to reveal the name of the neighbor or say whether that person had also been charged.
Authorities confirmed, however, that some witnesses are under protection while police hunt for Montgomery. "Measures have been taken to secure the other witnesses' testimony," Bondurant said.
Montgomery was last seen Saturday at his brother's house in the Giles County community of Narrows.
One potential witness in the arson case already has been killed, federal authorities said. He was identified as Paul Daniel Bostic of Roanoke.
Bostic was killed Sunday night by someone who knocked on the door of his home and then shot him through the door when he asked who was there. Roanoke police, who are investigating Bostic's killing, would not comment Thursday on whether Montgomery was a suspect.
But state police confirmed Thursday that they had sent out a teletype to area law enforcement agencies at the request of federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms authorities listing Montgomery as a suspect in Roanoke and Henry County killings.
The teletype describes Montgomery as extremely violent and as viewing himself as a "Rambo type." It urges police to use extreme caution if they find him, state police said.
Bostic, 45, of the 2200 block of Larchwood Street Northeast, was dead on arrival at Roanoke Memorial Hospital. He was shot once in the neck, police said.
Bostic's wife, Patricia, 44, told police that she heard a knock at the front door just before midnight Sunday. She told her husband, who was in bed, to "come and bring the gun," police said.
Bostic put his face up to a pane of frosted glass in the door and asked who was there. Patricia Bostic then heard a gunshot and saw her husband stagger backward, police said.
She told police the person at the door had responded with a woman's name when her husband asked for identification.
Bostic's killing is similar to one that occurred Jan. 18 in Henry County, leading police to list Montgomery as a suspect in that killing.
In that case, Leonard Green "Pee Wee" Martin, 68, was shot twice in the chest, as he opened the front door of his trailer home, with a gun believed to be a .357 Magnum, authorities said. His body was found on the front porch of his home in the Blackberry section of the county.
Authorities said Martin apparently had gone outside in response to a knock on the door or to look for someone or something. He had a flashlight and was wearing only boxer shorts and slippers.
Investigators say they know of no connection between Montgomery and Martin. Authorities are waiting for the results of ballistic tests on bullets used in both killings to determine whether there is a connection.
Montgomery also is wanted on charges of armed robbery of a jewelry store in Bristol, Tenn., and for federal parole violations, authorities said. Montgomery was on federal parole for an armed bank robbery, authorities said.
In Bristol, Montgomery is accused of robbing D&D Jewelry at gunpoint, allegedly taking the manager, a clerk and customer into a back room and threatening to shoot them. Police say the robber escaped with $30,000 worth of jewelry.
Montgomery was sentenced to life in prison for killing a man who was allegedly his partner in a bank robbery. The murder occurred in Giles County in 1972, while Montgomery was out on bond awaiting trial in the bank robbery case.
Montgomery was arrested in Roanoke by FBI agents about two weeks ago on a fugitive warrant from Tennessee on the jewelry-store robbery, authorities said. He was placed in the Roanoke jail and then was transferred to Tennessee, where he was released on $25,000 bond Saturday, authorities said.
In Bristol, General Sessions Court Judge Klyne Lauderback said he was not told of Montgomery's extensive criminal record during the arraignment Friday. Montgomery was to have appeared at a preliminary hearing Tuesday on the robbery charge.
Lt. Bill Smith of the Bristol Police Department said Montgomery has a record of escaping from prison and is extremely strong.
"We had him in leg irons at one point, and when deputies went to retrieve him from the cell, the irons were gone," Smith said. "Someone told us that he had broken them into pieces and flushed them down the toilet."
Federal and state authorities searched an abandoned house on Virginia 625 in Botetourt County early Wednesday for Montgomery, but he was not there, authorities said.
Montgomery is described as white, 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighing 220 pounds. He has blue eyes, brown hair and a tattoo on his upper left arm.
Montgomery's parole officer, Buddy Ross of Roanoke, said Montgomery has spent most of the past 22 years serving time in federal and state prisons on a variety of offenses.
The Associated Press provided information for this story.
Keywords:
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by CNB