Published: August 10, 2007 12:33 pm         

Sometimes the obvious isn’t so obvious

Having spent the last 26 years as a police reporter, now more commonly referred to as a public safety reporter, I have enjoyed a unique perspective on many stories that have been published over the years by the Times-News.

To no surprise, there often are many things that one learns while covering a story that do not always make it into print. There are many reasons, one being it’s just not the time nor the place.

For example, on Aug. 23, 1993, two armed thugs, Billy Joe Hottle and his cousin Craig Swick, killed Donna Ours, 27, and Leon Miller, 25, at their mobile home in Cabins, W.Va., and then traveled from Grant County to Mineral County where they killed Keyser 7-Eleven store clerk Karen Jeffrey, 33. The suspects were subsequently identified by patrons at the convenience store and an intensive manhunt ensued.

The killers remained at large for several days as the tri-state tried to make sense out of the senseless killings by the two deranged cousins who had each escaped that month from separate penal institutions in West Virginia. Their deadly crime spree began just days later.

That week, as West Virginia State Police led a joint police effort to apprehend the suspects, fellow reporter and photographer John D. Smith and I spent day after day in Petersburg, W.Va., where the murderous series of events began.

There had been reported sightings of the suspects, who later kidnapped a preacher, his wife and their daughter in Fayette County before releasing them and prior to their eventual return to Grant County. But there were also reports that the suspects had a “hit list” of people in the Grant County law enforcement community whom they wanted to kill.

As John (also known in the newsroom as “Doc”) and I “camped out” at the Grant County Courthouse day after day waiting for developments in the case, other media representatives arrived to cover the story, including WUSA reporter Dave Statter and his cameraman and a Fox News reporter, among others.

The courthouse complex literally became a revolving door for police officers from several jurisdictions, townspeople conducting business and the small contingent of media. We had full access to most of the building.

On Aug. 27, four days into the manhunt, a press conference was conducted by state police Bureau of Criminal Investigations Lt. Dave Plantz. John and I went into that briefing wondering about the security at the courthouse. None of the entrances was being guarded, checked or monitored. Security was not visible.

I asked the last question in the briefing. “How do you know these guys will not try to come back here? There doesn’t seem to be a lot of police security visible in the building and these guys supposedly have a hit list.”

The confident, well-groomed lieutenant welcomed the inquiry. “I can assure you there are about 100 armed police officers in this building right now who would love to see them walk through those doors,” he scoffed. He then ended the press conference to return to the command center situated down the hall next to the Grant County Sheriff’s Office.

Doc and I took our seats in the hallway, waiting and wondering what would be the next development.

Suddenly, a single-line parade of expressionless, heavily armed police officers streamed out of the corner command center. Something was happening and John and I quickly rose to our feet. As the fearless officers jumped into their marked and unmarked police vehicles, Doc and I jumped into his SUV and joined the vehicular procession. As the third vehicle in the entourage, we followed two police vehicles that drove one block, made a quick left on North Main Street and suddenly pulled over, with Doc and I behind them.

With weapons pulled, they entered the Petersburg Presbyterian Church, led by Allegany County Deputy Sheriff Ron Brown and his highly respected German shepherd, Jericho, and West Virginia State Police Trooper Dave Burkhart. The suspects were in the church! Jericho flushed them out and they ran toward Main Street, quickly taking refuge at the nearby Petersburg Motors car dealership. Shots were fired and one of the suspects took mechanic Don Phares as hostage. Doc and I took refuge just across the street with a clear view of the scene. I was taking cover behind a telephone pole as I watched the stunned hostage being dragged into the business as Hottle held a handgun to Phares’ head. Doc kept firing his camera.

Minutes later, Hottle exited the rear of the business where a shoot-out ended with the suspect being shot several times. The hostage was not physically harmed.

Both suspects were taken into custody. The manhunt ended. In our next day’s edition, with Doc’s dramatic photos, we devoted the entire page one to the arrests of the two murder suspects and the survival of a hostage taken at gunpoint before the shoot-out and arrests.

Hottle and Swick were convicted of all three murders and will spend the rest of their lives in prison. The convictions of Hottle, who is serving three life sentences without parole, were upheld by the West Virginia Supreme Court. Swick will be 96 when he becomes eligible for parole.

In our post 9/11 world, courthouse security is now commonplace and we are better off for it. Things still happen despite the best security precautions and procedures.

I often wonder if the suspects were actually trying to make their way back to the courthouse. I am grateful that they did not.