ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, September 1, 1996 TAG: 9609030079
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RADFORD
SOURCE: MARK CLOTHIER STAFF WRITER
A Radford man was arrested early Saturday in connection with the shooting death of a Washington, D.C., man in New River early Friday, Pulaski County Sheriff Ralph Dobbins said.
The slaying is Pulaski County's first this year and appears to be drug-related, Dobbins said.
After a nightlong investigation, Derrick Leon Chapman, 18, was arrested about 6 a.m. Saturday at his home at the Rustic Village Trailer Park, Dobbins said.
Chapman was charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Joshua D. Lopez, 21, Dobbins said. While in the area, Lopez had been going by the name Keith Lopez, Dobbins said.
Dobbins said his office received a call Friday from someone who had come across a body lying in brush near the railroad tracks alongside Falling Branch Road.
Lacking identification of the dead man, sheriff's investigators used a photo of him to locate a witness. The witness, whose name was not released, led them to Chapman.
Chapman is being held at the Pulaski County Jail without bond, Dobbins said. He is to appear Tuesday morning in Pulaski County General District Court, Dobbins said.
LENGTH: Short : 35 lines KEYWORDS: FATALITYby CNB