DATE: Monday, August 18, 1997               TAG: 9708180075

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   86 lines

MOTORISTS DEFY CARJACKER; HE OPENS FIRE

It took five tries and an increasing level of violence before a gunman who had just stolen a bank deposit bag from a woman was able to steal a car and make his getaway Saturday.

And police hope that the large number of witnesses he left behind will help them find him.

``All the victims and witnesses are coming in to provide information and descriptions'' today, said Mike Carey, a police spokesman. With those, investigators hope to be able to release a composite sketch late this afternoon.

Carey gave this scenario for the incident, which began about 3:20 p.m. at the First Union Bank branch in the Timberlake Shopping Center in the 4200 block of Holland Road:

A 40-year-old Chesapeake woman had stopped at the bank to drop off a bag with the day's receipts from a Virginia Beach gas station where she works. As she walked to the after-hours depository, however, a man came around the corner of the building.

He pointed a large-caliber, stainless-steel gun at her and demanded the money bag. The woman threw the bank bag at him, but it landed on the ground.

The man picked up the bag and, still pointing the gun at her, told the woman to get back into her Ford Bronco. But she refused. The man turned and started to walk away, across the shopping center parking lot.

The woman got back into her Bronco and began to follow the gunman. Partway through the lot, however, he turned and confronted her, pointing the gun at her again. She stopped and the man turned and ran.

He headed into the southbound lanes of Holland Road, where traffic had stopped for a red light.

He first went to a late-model Cadillac, where he confronted a Virginia Beach man who was driving. The gunman found the car doors locked, however, and the driver refused orders to open the door. In the process, the frustrated suspect dropped his gun.

The man retrieved the weapon and ran across the median into northbound traffic, where he confronted a Norfolk man driving a late-model station wagon. Again, he found doors locked and an unyielding motorist.

Now he was apparently getting angry. This time he pulled the trigger, firing several shots at the car. But no bullets hit the driver, and he still did not surrender the vehicle.

The gunman walked through the line of traffic and picked a 1997 Ford pickup as his next target. But as he reached for the door handle, the Norfolk man driving the pickup hit the accelerator and maneuvered around traffic to get away.

The gunman pointed and fired at the cab. One bullet struck it and narrowly missed the driver's head.

Then the gunman went to a 1995 Geo Metro. This time he had more success.

A window was open enough that he was able to push the barrel of the weapon through. He told the 20-year-old Virginia Beach woman driving the car to unlock the door and get out. She did.

The man jumped behind the wheel and took off.

Another motorist who had seen what had happened followed the onto the Virginia Beach-Norfolk Expressway and then onto Interstate 64 eastbound toward Chesapeake before losing him.

At 6:45 a.m. Sunday, Norfolk police found the car in the 600 block of Brambleton Ave. in Young Terrace.

``We got quite a few calls'' from people in vehicles who saw the man's efforts to find a getaway car, Carey said. But before officers arrived, he had fled.

Carey said the entire incident was over in minutes. ``The longest period of time was probably what it took him to walk across the traffic lanes.''

Luckily, none of the shots fired hit anyone. ``The degree of violence escalated each time he confronted someone. This could have been a real tragedy,'' Carey said. And even though no one was hurt, ``he scared quite a number of people.''

If caught, the gunman faces numerous felony charges, Carey said. Among them: armed robbery, attempted abduction, several counts of attempted carjacking, one count of carjacking, one count of attempted murder and several charges of using a gun while committing a felony.

The suspect is described as black with a dark complexion, between 30 and 40 years old, 5 feet 9 inches to 6 feet tall, and 180 to 200 pounds with a stocky build. He had a thin mustache and short hair with some gray in it. He had a round face with large, bloodshot eyes.

He had a gold ring on his right hand and was last seen wearing a white T-shirt with green pinstripes, and knee-length green shorts.

The man should be considered armed and extremely dangerous. Anyone with information about him is asked to call Crime Solvers at 427-0000.

Detective John Gandy is heading up a team of investigators handling the case. ``They are still sorting all this out as we speak,'' Carey said Sunday night. KEYWORDS: CARJACKING ROBBERY SHOOTING

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