THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Friday, July 5, 1996                  TAG: 9607050158
SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B2   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 
DATELINE: RICHMOND                          LENGTH:   41 lines

CAR USED BY ALLEGED ABDUCTOR AT CENTER OF DIVORCE IS FOUND POLICE SAY THE MAN TOOK HIS ESTRANGED WIFE'S MINISTER HOSTAGE AT GUNPOINT.

Police in Henrico County on Thursday found the car rented by former FBI agent Eugene Bennett the day police say he lured his estranged wife's minister to a church and took him hostage at gunpoint.

Police found the 1996 red Ford Contour parked at the Fairfield Inn in Richmond at about 12:30 p.m., Henrico County Police Lt. W.L. Smith Jr. said.

Police used a bomb team and bomb-sniffing dogs to see whether the car was outfitted with explosives, but found none, Smith said. The vehicle then was returned to the Richmond rental car agency from which it was rented.

Police feared the car might be rigged with explosives because components for a bomb were found behind the church where the alleged abduction occurred, as well as in a locker at the community college where Bennett's wife, Marguerite, has worked since she quit the FBI in 1994.

Eugene Bennett, arrested after a four-hour armed standoff at his suburban Manassas home the day after the alleged abduction, is jailed without bond and awaiting a psychiatric exam. He faces five felony charges related to the alleged abduction, and prosecutors plan to add charges related to the bomb material.

A preliminary hearing is set for Aug. 13.

Police and prosecutors say Bennett, 41, lured the minister to the Prince of Peace Church about 10 p.m. on June 23. Bennett then put a bag over the man's head, shackled him to a chair and strapped what he said were plastic explosives around the minister's chest, police say.

Bennett then forced the Rev. Edwin Clever to call Mrs. Bennett and summon her to the church, police say.

Mrs. Bennett, 42, brought a gun with her to the church. When she saw the situation, police said, she fired at her husband but missed.

Bennett fled but called police a short while later to complain that his wife shot at him, Prince William County Police spokeswoman Kim Chinn said.

Police also are investigating whether Bennett planned to kill his wife, with whom he has been embroiled in a bitter divorce and custody battle. by CNB