Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 21, 1995 TAG: 9510220017
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DIANE STRUZZI
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
Roanoke police gave this account of what happened:
Gustubas L. Hammond, 64, was walking in the 700 block of Bullitt Avenue Southeast when three men approached him and demanded money. The men pushed Hammond and took his wallet, which contained $36. The three men ran to a red vehicle.
Hammond's description of his assailants matches the description of the suspects in a series of beating incidents in Roanoke during the past two weeks. At least four other men reported to police that they were beaten by a group of men who fled in a red vehicle. None of the victims' injuries was life-threatening.
Police said one victim described the getaway car as a red Mustang. But investigators said additional information has pointed to other car models, including a General Motors vehicle.
In another incident, Roanoke police said a 33-year-old man in Melrose Park was beaten by a group of men early Friday. The offense was not related to the beatings by the men in a red vehicle.
Police said Curtis Anthony Flint told them he was in the park in the 1400 block of Melrose Avenue Northwest when three men hit him in the head several times with a beer bottle. The three men fled on foot. Flint ran to a nearby house in the 1300 block of Essex Avenue Northwest, and the resident called police.
Flint was treated at Roanoke Memorial Hospital, according to a nursing supervisor from the hospital.
by CNB