Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 1, 1994 TAG: 9403010230
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By TODD JACKSON STAFF WRITER NOTE: below
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
That was the reaction Monday of a neighbor of Elbert L. ``Lyn'' Goodwin, who shot and killed an Ironto truck-stop clerk, critically wounded a good Samaritan and then turned the gun on himself minutes later.
The clerk, Sandra K. Brown, was shot six times - once in the chest and five times in the back, according to an autopsy report received Monday by the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office.
Lt. O.P. Ramsey said Goodwin apparently reloaded his .38 caliber revolver and fired it twice more - once to shoot truck driver Timothy Ruhl in the neck, and the second minutes later to take his own life.
Ruhl, 29, of Mount Joy, Pa., tried to stop Goodwin from leaving the Lancer Truck Stop off Interstate 81 when he realized Brown was shot. He remains in critical condition at Roanoke Memorial Hospital.
Brown, 37, of Radford, was married and the mother of five children.
Court records show Goodwin's Saturday spree of violence was preceded by run-ins with neighbors and relatives.
Peter Scott, who owns land next to Goodwin's in the Hemlock Dale subdivision on Poor Mountain Road, filed assault charges against Goodwin in September 1989.
Scott recalled Monday that the incident occurred after Hurricane Hugo hit the area. Scott said Goodwin ``swiped'' at him with a chainsaw he was using to cut trees.
Scott said he, Goodwin, and their wives were arguing because trees Goodwin was cutting were falling on a power line to Scott's home.
A Roanoke County District Court judge found sufficient evidence to take the charge against Goodwin under advisement for 12 months. It was dismissed a year later.
The Goodwins later filed countercharges against the Scotts. The countercharges were dismissed, Scott said; that couldn't be verified Monday.
In another matter, a brandishing charge was brought against Goodwin after he pulled a gun in front of his sister-in-law, Penny Sue Goodwin, in November 1988, court records show. The charge later was dropped.
Gary Wagner, Brown's brother, said his sister's slaying was an ``act of senseless violence.''
``It's just a pure out-and-out tragedy,'' said Wagner, of Mount Airy, N.C. ``And it's not just going on in the Roanoke Valley. It's nationwide.''
One witness to the argument between Goodwin and Brown that preceded the shootings has speculated that the two had a romantic relationship.
Wagner disagreed. ``There's absolutely no truth to that at all,'' he said.
Sunday, a sun-splashed row of tractor-trailers sat in the parking lot of the Lancer Truck Stop. One trucker was climbing out of his cab. A few others slept.
Inside, people were gathered around the checkout counter talking about Saturday's string of events.
A couple on their way to North Carolina interrupted the discussion to ask for directions.
Things might have seemed normal to interstate travelers, but Saturday's shootings shook the Ironto community.
``If he had a problem, he should have taken it somewhere else,'' one customer said.
Store clerks asked a reporter about Ruhl's condition.
``The truck driver shouldn't be forgotten,'' one of them said.
Staff writer Kathy Loan contributed to this story.
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB