THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 24, 1994 TAG: 9407240075
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
Detectives arrested a 16-year-old Norfolk youth Saturday night in the slayings of four family members shot in their home on Seaboard Road, ending a round-the-clock investigation into the city's second quadruple killing in three weeks.
Police spokesman Lou Thurston said the Friday killings resulted from a drug-related robbery. He declined to say what led police to the young suspect.
Police found the bodies of Evelyn Ward, 63; Thelma Harper, whose age couldn't be confirmed; Clifton Harper, 19; and Robert Ward, 14, Friday morning. All were living in the house in the 2400 block of Seaboard Road.
The slayings are a new chapter in a family history wracked by drugs. In 1992, at least four members of the Ward family were among 19 people arrested and indicted for running a high-profit, strong-arm crack cocaine ring in four of the city's low-income neighborhoods. Most of the defendants were convicted and sent to jail or prison; some received life terms without possibility of parole.
One of Friday's victims, Clifton Harper, was due for trial next month on charges of distributing cocaine. Thurston said Harper was the intended target of the robbery.
But three of the victims - homeowner Evelyn Ward, her grandson, Robert, and her niece, Thelma Harper - appeared to have no connection to drug trafficking.
A man staying with the family members discovered their bodies about 9:30 a.m. Friday when he returned from running an errand, police said. The man, who was not identified by police, went to a neighbor's house for help, and the neighbor called police.
Later, police arrested the neighbor, Alexander Smith, 21, and charged him with possession of cocaine and having a gun while in possession of cocaine. A detective saw drug items when Smith invited him inside, Thurston said.
The four slayings Friday pushed the city's homicide total for this year to 28, one short of the record set in 1991. If that rate continues, detectives can expect to investigate 20 more slayings this year.
Despite the surge in violence, arrests have been made in all but one of this year's slayings. The national homicide arrest rate is roughly 60 percent.
Detectives arrested the 16-year-old shortly before 9 p.m. Saturday and charged him with one count of capital murder, three counts of first-degree murder, one count of robbery, and four counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony. He will likely be arraigned in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court on Monday, Thurston said.
On June 30, four people were killed at the Witchduck Inn on Pembroke Boulevard. Michael D. Clagett, a regular patron, and Denise R. Holsinger, a former employee, were charged with those slayings.
KEYWORDS: MURDER SHOOTING ARREST by CNB