
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, July 11, 1993                   TAG: 9307110073
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                                LENGTH: Medium

2 HANDICAPPED MEN KILLED IN VA. BEACH

Two handicapped men were shot and killed as they sat parked in their car and two suspects in the slayings were arrested early Saturday, police said.

Brian Scott Cassidy, 23, and James Davis, 20, had each been shot at least once in the head. Their bodies were found Friday about 6:30 a.m. by a passerby on his way to work. Police could not say how long they had been dead.

Michael Logan, 20, of Virginia Beach, and a 17-year-old boy were arrested and charged with capital murder and use of a firearm after an interview at police headquarters, said police spokesman Lewis Thurston.

According to Thurston, Logan and the teen-ager, who was not identified because of his age, had met Cassidy and Davis to buy marijuana. "At this point it is still unclear as to what led to the murders," he said.

Both suspects were being held without bond.

Police removed what appeared to be a small amount of marijuana and a large-caliber revolver, possibly a .357-Magnum, from the car. Police and residents said the middle- to low-income area where the men died is not a hot spot for drug peddling, but some narcotics dealing has taken place there.

Police do not think the revolver is the murder weapon because at least three shell casings were found on the street near the car. Revolvers do not eject casings on firing, but semiautomatic handguns do.

Police would not say what type of gun fired the fatal shots or if the revolver had been fired.

Relatives and neighbors said Davis and Cassidy met at Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation School in Staunton.

Cassidy was paralyzed below the waist three years ago after a car crash a half-mile from his Chesapeake home. Davis suffered a fractured neck last year in a diving accident.

Cassidy was a graduate of Norfolk Christian School. At Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation School, he studied mechanical drafting and graduated Jan. 23. He planned to enroll in Old Dominion University this fall.

Davis, born in Panama City, Fla., dropped out of high school but later earned a general equivalency diploma. He planned to attend Tidewater Community College in fall and wanted to study physical or occupational therapy.

"You will never meet a more good-natured person considering the type of accident he had," said Davis' stepfather, John Reigle. After his injury, "he actually had a better attitude, which is why this is such a shame," Reigle said.

Keywords:
FATALITY

by CNB