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

DATE: FRIDAY, November 4, 1994                   TAG: 9411040116
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A-15   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

IN VIRGINIA

JARRATT - A man shot and wounded at a traffic checkpoint was on his way to rob a bank, state police say.

Authorities charged Damon Wheelous, 27, of Halifax, N.C., on Wednesday with three counts of attempted capital murder of a police officer, conspiring to rob a bank and other offenses.

State police spokeswoman Tammy Van Dame said Wheelous and two companions had cased a Jarratt bank and were on their way to rob it at 12:55 p.m. Tuesday when they were stopped at the traffic checkpoint in Greensville County.

Van Dame said the men were asked to get out of the car because the three troopers running the roadblock smelled alcohol and saw a beer in the vehicle.

After one trooper found a handgun on Tyrone Branch, 36, of Halifax, Wheelous ran several feet and turned around ``brandishing an automatic weapon,'' police said.

Trooper R.K. Posey shot Wheelous several times, Van Dame said. At least two of the shots hit Wheelous in the upper body. Posey has been placed on administrative leave with pay, which is routine procedure in such cases, Van Dame said.

Investigators also have charged Branch and the third man with conspiracy to commit bank robbery.

Van Dame declined to give the third man's name, saying its release could jeopardize the investigation.

- Associated Press

Prison to be built on Eastern Shore

RICHMOND - The state has signed an option to buy 108 acres of land on Virginia's Eastern Shore to build a maximum-security prison.

The prison near Cape Charles in Northampton County would house 1,267 inmates in four units. It would open in late 1998 if the General Assembly approves construction funding in its 1995 session, Gov. George Allen said.

Legislators approved design and development funding during a special session held in September to abolish parole.

- Associated Press

Allen criticizes park restrictions

RICHMOND - Gov. George Allen said Thursday that new restrictions on access to a federal wildlife refuge impose an unreasonable burden on people who want to visit False Cape State Park in Virginia Beach.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service temporarily has banned walking and bicycling on the interior roads of Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge, saying the traffic is disturbing the refuge's waterfowl.

The restrictions, which took effect Tuesday and last through May 31, mean that the only way visitors can reach False Cape State Park is to make a five-mile hike on the beach, Allen said.

- Associated Press