THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, November 12, 1996 TAG: 9611120223
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 81 lines
A 31-year-old man suspected of shooting at a Virginia Beach police officer over the weekend was arrested in Illinois on Monday after police said he critically wounded a state trooper who had stopped the fugitive for speeding.
Authorities said Wayne County, Ill., sheriff's deputies chased down a stolen car driven by Jeffrey Scott Blaney shortly after Blaney allegedly shot the Illinois trooper in the stomach, just below the trooper's protective vest. The car Blaney was driving had been stolen at gunpoint Sunday in Norfolk, police said.
The Illinois trooper, 49-year-old Ernest Johnson, was able to return to his patrol car and call for help. He was taken to a hospital in critical condition around 1 p.m.
Central time.
Blaney has been on the lam since Saturday, when police say he fired a single shot at Virginia Beach policewoman Renee Johnson, who had stopped his car near Norfolk and Baltic avenues at the Oceanfront. Virginia Beach police were trying to arrest Blaney on burglary warrants when he ran from the officer and then fired at her. She wasn't hurt.
According to authorities and news reports in Illinois, this is what happened Monday:
The Illinois trooper stopped Blaney for driving 90 mph on Interstate 64, about 15 miles southeast of Fairfield in southern Illinois. As the trooper approached the Honda Civic that Blaney was driving, Blaney shot him in the stomach.
The trooper got back to his car as Blaney sped away. The trooper radioed for help and broadcast a description of the car.
A few minutes later on Illinois Route 45, two Wayne County sheriff's deputies passed the car Blaney was driving. They turned around and tried to stop it.
Blaney drove off Route 45 and onto a rural road. The chase crossed a field before the deputies caught and arrested Blaney. He was taken to jail in Wayne County.
Blaney's confrontations with police began Saturday in Virginia Beach near the Holly Kove Studio Apartments near the intersection of Norfolk and Pacific avenues, where Blaney was staying. An officer on patrol was randomly checking the license plates of cars to see if their owners were wanted by authorities. He discovered the driver of a blue Ford Tempo was.
The officer, Dave Kent, went to pick up copies of the arrest warrants that had been issued for Blaney. Officer Johnson was dispatched to watch the car.
A few minutes later, Blaney got into his car along with a 14-year-old boy and drove away, and Johnson stopped the car.
Blaney ran away and Johnson chased. Blaney suddenly stopped and fired a large-caliber handgun at the 33-year-old officer, police said, but the bullet missed.
Johnson took cover and called for backup.
Blaney circled through a residential area and returned to his car and sped away.
A day later, Sunday, police said Blaney apparently carjacked a 1989 Honda Civic in the 500 block of N. Military Highway in Norfolk. Although the description of the carjacker didn't match Blaney's appearance, he was in the stolen car when the Illinois trooper caught him speeding less than 24 hours later, police said.
An intensive weekend search by Virginia Beach police failed to locate Blaney, for whom authorities had no permanent address. Police learned that Blaney spoke by phone with one of his parents, who urged him to turn himself in, but the fugitive reportedly said only that he would consider it.
Blaney was wanted by Virginia Beach police in connection with the Oct. 30 burglary of a home in the 2100 block of Virginia Beach Blvd.
Virginia Beach police said they didn't know why Blaney was in Illinois. Detectives trying to find him also didn't learn of the Norfolk carjacking until after the Illinois trooper was shot Monday.
In addition to the burglary warrants, Blaney now also faces charges for trying to shoot the Virginia Beach police officer. Those charges could later be upgraded to attempted capital murder.
Authorities in Illinois said that by late Monday, they were still interviewing Blaney and had not yet charged him.
The trooper was undergoing surgery and was reported in serious condition Monday evening. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
Jeffrey Scott Blaney, 31, was in jail in Wayne County, Ill.
KEYWORDS: ARREST SHOOTING by CNB