ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, April 26, 1997 TAG: 9704280052
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK THE ROANOKE TIMES
Miguel Ortiz, just released from a hospital, is charged with killing his former girlfriend and her mother.
Nearly a month after he was shot in the stomach during a standoff with Roanoke police, Miguel Angel Ortiz was released from a hospital this week to face charges of killing his former girlfriend and her mother.
Sitting in a wheelchair, Ortiz was pushed into a courtroom Friday to be arraigned on indictments of capital murder, first-degree murder, burglary with intent to commit a felony and three firearm offenses.
Circuit Judge Clifford Weckstein appointed a public defender to represent Ortiz, who has been held without bond in the city jail since his release Thursday from Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital.
The 23-year-old Roanoke man is charged with killing Sharon Casey and her mother, Deborah Casey, at Caru Apartments off Melrose Avenue Northwest the night of April1.
Shortly after the women's bodies were discovered, Ortiz was spotted by police outside the apartment. He pulled a gun as an officer tried to wrestle him to the ground, then held police at bay for more than an hour.
Police said an officer shot Ortiz after he ran to a wooded area, then turned and pointed his gun at police officers who followed. Ortiz spent more than a week unconscious in the hospital and has undergone surgery.
Wearing a plastic hospital bracelet on his right wrist and a navy blue jail suit, Ortiz appeared thinner in court Friday than he did in media photographs and videotape of the standoff 25 days ago. Gripping the arms of his wheelchair, he spoke softly as he answered routine questions about his financial ability to hire an attorney.
"I'm not sure if I have it any more," the car wash attendant said when Weckstein asked him if he had a job.
If convicted of capital murder, Ortiz would face life in prison or a death sentence. Commonwealth's Attorney Donald Caldwell said he has not decided if he will seek the death sentence.
In the days before Sharon Casey was killed, she and Ortiz had filed charges against each other as their relationship fell apart. On the night of April1, she had gone to a magistrate to obtain warrants charging Ortiz with vandalizing her car earlier that day.
Authorities have said that Ortiz became enraged when he learned of the warrants and confronted Casey at her apartment.
Police were called to the scene, but were unable to find Ortiz after Casey told them he had barged into her apartment and hit her in the head. A short time later, neighbors reported hearing a scream and gunshots.
When police arrived a second time, they found the bodies of Sharon Casey, 23, and her 42-year-old mother.
LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: KELLY HAHN JOHNSON THE ROANOKE TIMES. Miguel Ortiz andby CNBDeputy Public Defender John Varney listen as Ortiz is indicted in
Roanoke Circuit Court Friday on charges of killing his former
girlfriend and her mother. color. KEYWORDS: ROMUR