THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, February 27, 1996 TAG: 9602270324
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LARRY W. BROWN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Long : 114 lines
Ronald Hagins doesn't hate the man who almost killed him.
But he is struggling to understand what prompted a week of violence that claimed three lives, including the man police believe is responsible: Sammy J. Gary.
``I prayed (justice) wouldn't come to him in the form of death,'' Hagins said Monday from his home in the 3900 block of Holly Cove Drive. ``I wanted him to get help. I've been a friend of his for years. I would much rather him get help than to get killed.''
Gary, 20, is linked to two Norfolk fatal shootings this weekend, and the violent assault on three people in Portsmouth on Feb. 20 that left Hagins wounded. Gary was wanted on more than a dozen charges.
Ann Jungja Lim, 52, a Suffolk Realtor, was killed outside Janaf Shopping Center Friday. Paul A. Bernard, 37, of Chesapeake, was shot to death the next day in an apparent carjacking in the parking lot of the Kmart on North Military Highway.
Gary, of the 1500 block of Eckstine Drive in Portsmouth, was killed later Saturday after police chased him to the 5500 block of New Colony Drive in Virginia Beach. When he fired at the officers, they shot back. He died at the scene.
Hagins, 24, had just come home from the hospital, where he was treated for injuries inflicted by Gary, when he heard about the weekend killings. ``It just took me by storm,'' he said.
He and Gary had known each other since they were kids in Portsmouth.
Gary, he said, did not appear to be a violent person, but ``sometimes he would just click'' and his mood would switch drastically from happy to strange.
When Gary was a toddler, his father killed his mother before committing suicide. Hagins said those events may have affected him his whole life.
``I knew he was not in his right state of mind,'' Hagins said about the night he was shot. ``I felt like he was having a lot of flashbacks . . . frustration and pain. I honestly feel like he wasn't himself.''
However in the weeks before the shootings, everything seemed normal. ``Basically when I saw him, he looked to be pretty fine, like he was the same person I'd known all along. Even that night. . . .''
It remains a terrifying night in Portsmouth that replays in Hagins' nightmares.
``When I get these bandages changed it brings tears to my eyes,'' Hagins said. ``Did he think I was somebody else? What was going through this man's mind when he shot me?''
He said they had not been arguing, that they ``hadn't even stared at each other wrong.'' That changed when they drove with two other men to the 100 block of Wilson Parkway about 10:30 p.m.
``He just went into another world . . . a world of his own. It's like he didn't know who I was anymore.''
Gary pulled a gun and demanded they get out the car. He then led them behind a building, told them to drop to their knees and demanded money.
Hagins said he was scared that Gary had turned on him. He asked Gary what was going on but all he heard in response was mumbling.
Gary then struck Hagins on the head with the gun and then tried to go through Hagins' pockets. Hagins tussled with him and was shot once in the back.
``I jumped and grabbed him,'' he said. ``He shot me again.''
Their fight continued and the gun fired a third time. He was hit in the arm. Gary then shot him in the face.
Despite his wounds, Hagins had enough strength to run. ``I was just thinking of my daughter, thinking, `Please God let me live.' ''
He found an unlocked door of a nearby house and went inside.
The resident inside, nearly hysterical at the bleeding man who had barged his way in, eventually calmed and told him to sit in the bathroom, while her daughter called paramedics.
``I looked in the mirror and just shook my head,'' Hagins said. ``I saw my face slit wide open.''
Police and paramedics rushed him to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital's trauma center.
He barely survived. A police spokeswoman said paramedics had to revive him.
None of the bullets was embedded in his body. Two hit his back, one tore through his upper left arm and the fourth ripped his right cheek, exiting near the ear.
He has had plastic surgery on his face and he is scheduled for more surgery on his arm. Meanwhile he's coping with 25 facial stitches and 13 staples on the top of his head.
The recovery is moving surprisingly swiftly, he said, but he still endures a lot of pain, especially in the arm.
He said he has been at home for nearly four days trying to recover mentally and physically with help from his family and fiancee.
``I just shake my head . . .,'' he said. ``I just hope the Father has mercy on his soul.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color map
Crime Spree: What Happened Last Week
On February 20, Ronald Hagins, 24, of Chesapeake, was shot in the
arm, cheek and back.
Last Friday, Ann Jungja Lim, 52, a Suffolk Realtor, was killed
outside Janaf Shopping Center.
Paul A. Bernard, 37, of Chesapeake, was shot to death Saturday in
an apparent carjacking in the parking lot of the Kmart at North
Military Highway.
Police killed Sammy J. Gary, 20, of Portsmouth, after chasing him
to the 5500 block of New Colony Drive in Virginia Beach. When Gary
fired at officers they fired back.
Color photo by JIM WALKER, The Virginian-Pilot
Ronald Hagins says his old friend Sammy Gary sometimes suffered
drastic mood swings.
KEYWORDS: SHOOTING MURDER ASSAULT by CNB