THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, June 22, 1995 TAG: 9506220461
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
A 27-year-old inmate who has made a career of armed robbery was on the loose Wednesday night after staging his second successful escape from sheriff's deputies in three years.
While Terrance L. Agnew was being driven back to jail in Hampton after a court appearance in Norfolk, he overpowered a deputy.
It was unclear Wednesday night whether Agnew was wearing handcuffs or other restraints.
Police spokesman Larry Hill said Agnew took the deputy's gun and stole a Sheriff's Department car, after leaving the deputy handcuffed to a fence near Military Circle.
``Agnew should be considered armed and dangerous,'' Hill said. ``He was serving time for armed robbery and bank robbery.''
The last time Agnew escaped custody, he eluded police for almost a month before being recaptured in a joint operation by Hampton and Norfolk police and the FBI.
Police launched a new intensive search for Agnew on Wednesday, focusing on neighborhoods near where he had made his escape. The hunt continued into the night. All neighboring police departments and the State Police were alerted.
Hill said Agnew overpowered the deputy, whose name was not released, about 3:15 p.m. as the car they were in was nearing the Lasalle Avenue exit off Interstate 64 in Hampton.
Agnew took the deputy's .38-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver and forced the deputy to drive around Hampton for about an hour. Then he made him drive back to Norfolk.
About 4:30 p.m., they arrived in the 300 block of Honaker Street, just off Poplar Hall Drive, in the Glenrock section of the city. Agnew handcuffed the deputy to a chainlink fence at the dead end of the north section of Honaker Street, near a pedestrian walkway that spans Interstate 264.
About a half hour later, a passer-by using the pedestrian bridge heard the deputy's calls for help and called police. The deputy was treated for minor injuries.
Agnew was last seen driving away in the deputy's brown, 1991 Ford four-door. The car has a sheriff's department logo on it and a police radio inside, but it does not have any emergency lights. The car had a Virginia official state license plate, 94-172L.
Agnew, who also is known as Terry L. Williams or James J. Hardy, is described as black, 5 feet 7 inches tall, 150 pounds. He was wearing a blue denim jacket, blue jeans and black sneakers. He has been known to frequent areas in Hampton and, in Norfolk, neighborhoods near the Janaf and Military Circle shopping centers.
On Aug. 22, 1993, Agnew escaped custody after receiving medical treatment at a Hampton hospital.
He was serving a 52-year sentence for robbery convictions in Norfolk and Hampton and was awaiting trial on 17 other robbery charges.
Agnew was dressed in jail clothing and was wearing handcuffs and leg irons at the time of his 1993 escape.
During that escape, police said, a man fitting Agnew's description robbed a hair salon at Janaf Shopping Center.
Early in the morning on Sept. 18, 1993, a joint task force of officers stopped a car carrying four people Colley Avenue. Among them was Agnew and another wanted man.
Police stressed that Agnew should be considered armed and dangerous. Anyone seeing him should take no action on their own, Hill said, but should call police at 911 or Norfolk Crime Line at 664-4040. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Terrance L. Agnew
KEYWORDS: ROBBERIES ARREST ESCAPE by CNB