ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, December 8, 1995 TAG: 9512080097
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: ROCKY MOUNT
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON STAFF WRITER
THERE ARE BETTER PLACES to hide from the law in Franklin County than the restaurant where one of the regular customers carries a badge.
A man on the run from the law found out that Jerry's Steak House is not a good place to stop.
Urie Lamont Wilson, 20, of Martinsville and two others were arrested last month and charged with a break-in at Midpoint Pontiac on U.S. 220 in Franklin County, according to Sheriff's Office Investigator Fred Jamison.
According to Jamison and Sheriff W.Q. "Quint" Overton, here's what happened:
About 9 p.m. on Nov. 24, three men and a male juvenile threw a rock through the showroom window of the car dealership, walked in and grabbed hundreds of keys to new cars.
The thieves jumped into their car and drove across the highway, where they began sifting through the keys to try to find one to match a car that had caught their eye on the lot.
When they couldn't find it, they decided to go back to the Midpoint lot to get more keys.
But returning to the scene of the crime turned out to be a big mistake
A man who had driven through the dealership looking for a new car had seen the damaged showroom window and called 911.
A county dispatcher then phoned Overton to inform him of the situation. Overton, coincidentally, was eating dinner just up the highway at Jerry's Steak House.
At about the same time, Jamison and Deputy Alan Arrington arrived at Midpoint and spotted a suspicious vehicle. They blocked the car in, and one of the passengers jumped out and ran.
Jamison chased him to the edge of the woods between Midpoint and Jerry's Steak House.
"I stopped there so I could call in a [tracking] dog," Jamison said.
The suspect didn't stay in the woods, however. He decided to come out and go into the restaurant to make a phone call and use the restroom.
"Not a wise move," Jamison said later.
Overton, who wasn't in uniform, said he shot a quick glance at Jerry Leonard, the owner of the establishment, and "Jerry shot me a look back. I knew something wasn't right."
When the suspect came out of the restroom, Overton flashed his badge. "I asked him if he had a car, and he said he was on foot. So I asked him to step outside so we could talk."
Minutes later in the restaurant parking lot, Jamison showed up and identified the suspect.
"It's a small world," Overton said.
Wilson, the man arrested at the restaurant, has been charged with breaking and entering, attempted grand larceny and petty larceny, Jamison said.
Dana O. Silver, 22, of Richmond and Michael L. Holland, 21, of Martinsville face the same charges, he said.
The juvenile, 13, also faces unspecified charges.
Investigators say the Midpoint break-in was similar to several others recently at car dealerships in Franklin and Henry counties.
Jamison said an investigation of the burglaries continues.
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