CHARLOTTE COURTHOUSE — An unidentified man was shot and killed Friday in a standoff with Charlotte County sheriff’s deputies after he led them on a chase from a bank in Phenix to rural Campbell County.
A Campbell deputy who was en route to assist in the incident was injured from glass that shattered from his squad car after the suspect shot at him.
Charlotte Sheriff Thomas D. Jones said the sheriff’s office received a call around 9:30 a.m. that someone was robbing the Phenix branch of The Bank of Charlotte County.
According to Jones, the man entered the bank and fired two shots at the counter and demanded money from bank employees, then left on foot with the money.
Jones said he did not know how much money was stolen.
The man was walking by railroad tracks nearby when two sheriff’s deputies spotted him.
The deputies, Bob Kolach and Tim Trent, ordered the man to stop, but he turned around and fired at them with an assault rifle. He then ran into the woods, continuing to fire at the deputies.
The man forced his way into a house on Virginia 40, about 300 yards from the bank, shooting off the locks to the front door. He held one of the residents at gunpoint, demanding the keys to their 1999 Ford Taurus.
The bullets sprayed throughout the house, Jones said, but no one was injured.
The suspect then drove off, heading east on Virginia 40. Another sheriff’s deputy spotted him and joined the other two deputies in chasing the suspect.
The man turned onto Hill Croft Road, then continued on Virginia 727 before reaching Virginia 615.
Other Charlotte County deputies, as well as the sheriff, who had taken the day off to work on his re-election campaign, joined in the pursuit.
Deputies from Appomattox and Campbell counties, as well as officers from Drakes Branch and Brookneal police departments assisted Charlotte County deputies.
The man continued to shoot at police while driving, Jones said.
The suspect entered Campbell County and wrecked his car about five miles west of the county’s border with Charlotte County.
Police lost sight of the man near the county line, but a resident told them he saw the Taurus headed toward Rustburg, Jones said.
Jones said the man was traveling at least 80 mph and crashed into a fence off the road.
The man tried to steal a truck from a man who was driving by, but was not successful, Jones said.
Campbell County Sheriff’s Deputy Aaron Scott was driving toward Charlotte County to assist in the chase when he approached the vehicle.
“He rolled up on the guy unknowingly and (the suspect) opened fire on the Campbell County unit,” Jones said.
Campbell County Sheriff Robert Maxey said in a telephone interview that the shootout occurred on Red House Road, Virginia 615, about 15 miles south of Rustburg.
“The shots hit the windshield twice and glass hit him in the face,” Maxey said. “Scott was in the area, so he was the first to encounter the suspect. The suspect’s car wrecked, and then the driver got out and started shooting.”
Maxey said that the driver shot Scott’s vehicle at least five times.
“When I saw him (Scott), he had numerous cuts to his face and his face was very bloody,” Maxey said. “He was not seriously injured, but his vehicle was shot at and hit. He was hit in the face with flying glass and cut in the face in several places.”
Jones was taken to Lynchburg General Hospital for treatment.
Bonnie Tate, spokeswoman for Lynchburg General Hospital, said Friday afternoon that Scott had been treated and released.
About 15 officers from the Campbell County Sheriff’s Department were involved in the incident. No other county officers were injured, Maxey said.
The last time a Campbell County officer’s vehicle was shot at was about eight years ago, Maxey said.
Moments after Scott’s vehicle was shot, Jones said he and other Charlotte County deputies arrived at the scene and confronted the man.
“He was still in the vehicle, still in the driver’s seat,” Jones said. “I yelled several times ‘get on the ground,’ and he came out with a rifle. He opened fire and continued to fire until the clip had ran out.”
Then he started firing another gun until he ran out of bullets.
Charlotte County deputies returned fire, Jones said.
“The trunk (of the Taurus) had started to open. We started to fire into the trunk,” Jones said. “He stopped firing after that.”
Jones said a medical examiner arrived at the scene a short while later and declared the suspect dead at the scene.
Police confiscated several rounds of ammunition, firearms and the bank money from the stolen vehicle.
About half a dozen police vehicles received damage from gun shots, but no other officers were injured in the shootout or chase, Jones said.
“It’s just by the grace of God no one got hurt,” he said. “I have to commend the Campbell County deputy for how he handled it.”
Jones said the Virginia State Police are investigating the incident, with the help of Campbell County investigators.
The suspect’s body has been taken to the medical examiner’s office in Richmond to verify the cause of death and identification of the suspect, Jones said.
Jones described the suspect as a white man in his late 20s to early 30s, about 6 feet tall and weighing 140-150 pounds wearing a black T-shirt and camouflage outfit. He said police could not obtain a positive identification of the man, but found an out-of-state driver’s license in the duffel bag they confiscated that also held the stolen money.