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CNN Live Today

Authorities Link Three West Virginia Killings to Same Weapon

Aired August 22, 2003 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Up first this hour on CNN, the West Virginia sniper case. Police are now, for the first time, positively linking all three killings in the Charleston area to the same crime -- the same firearm, I should say.
CNN investigative correspondent Art Harris begins our coverage this hour.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ART HARRIS, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A young mother at a gas station, a father buying milk, a mechanic using this pay phone, all murder victims, now bound together by one final ballistics report.

CHIEF JERRY PAULEY, CHARLESTON POLICE: It does positively link the three bullets together. They all three came from the same weapon.

HARRIS: Three shots out of the dark, fired from a rifle.

PAULEY: They were all .22-caliber, some type of rifle. That's all we know at this time.

HARRIS: The last test tied in the first murder -- that of 44- year-old Gary Carrier, shot down 12 nights ago while talking on a gas station phone. Any evidence of drug connections?

PAULEY: No.

HARRIS: A one-word answer, undercutting previous hints that this sniper mystery in Charleston, West Virginia, may somehow be drug- related.

Police are still looking for a large, dark pickup truck. This animation recreates such a truck stopped at another shooting scene. But there is no link between a truck and the Gary Carrier murder.

PAULEY: No, we didn't have any indication of a vehicle at all at our Go-Mart in the city.

HARRIS: Overnight, investigators released this sketch of a man, who witnesses say is the driver of a dark pickup spotted at the location of the last two murders a week ago.

(END VIDEOTAPE) Since police released the sketch last night, they say their phones have been ringing with callers saying they recognize the man, and providing dozens of different names to check out -- from friends to acquaintances to at least one known criminal -- Leon.

HARRIS: All right, thank you very much, Art -- Art Harris reporting live for us from Charleston, West Virginia.

Quite a few developments to talk about in this case that have happened -- that have come now up in the last couple of hours. The sniper shootings in the town of Charleston and the surrounding area are now really putting the people there on edge, as you might imagine.

Well, joining us now with a bit more on the investigation and just how the community is coping, Charleston Mayor Danny Jones.

Mayor Jones, glad to have you back with us this morning, and it appears as though there is some momentum building up finally, huh?

MAYOR DANNY JONES, CHARLESTON, WEST VIRGINIA: Nice to see you.

HARRIS: Now, do you feel like you have some momentum building right now, Mayor?

JONES: I'm sorry. I couldn't hear your question.

HARRIS: I'm sorry. I can tell that it sounds like there is a lot of truck generator noise there in the background. I'll try it again and speak a little more slowly.

It seems as though there is some more momentum now developing in this case now. Do you get a sense of that?

JONES: Yes, I do. I think with the sketch that's out there and the picture of the truck and the fact that the phones are ringing at the task force, I think that there is some momentum moving here. And there are about 100 people in the building not too far from here and a lot of federal agents that are working very hard to catch this individual and bring him to justice.

HARRIS: I want to ask you about something that has been floated in the press in the last 24 hours or so, the idea there may be drugs involved here in this particular case. I believe your sheriff had made some sort of a statement about that. What do you make of that? Do you think -- is that still a part of the investigation at this point?

JONES: That has not been established by the task force. That's the sheriff operating on his own theory, perhaps through his own department. The task force has not established that, and right now it's so completely premature to say that.

There has been established somewhat of a disconnect between the statements the sheriff has been making and the task force. Last night, the sheriff presented himself to the task force and joined in their meeting this morning. And, as I understand it, there will be a press conference today with the sheriff, with the chief of police, and hopefully everybody will be singing off the same sheet of music.

HARRIS: Well, speaking of sheets, right now there is a sheet of paper with a composite drawing of a possible suspect in this case that's being circulated right now. Can you give us an idea of what you're hearing in terms of the phone calls that you're getting right now since this picture has been published and has actually been put out there in the public?

JONES: Well, just a lot of what Art said -- a lot of folks that have seen this individual. And quite frankly, he looks somewhat familiar to me, even though I can't put a name to it, but that could be because I have seen it so many times. But the fact that they hooked that face up to one known criminal means that there may be something happening here. And hopefully, the task force will come up with a conclusion that may find out who this individual is.

HARRIS: You know, Mayor, with that picture being published now and seeing that this -- and there is so much talk now about describing of the vehicle as well that's out there, what makes you believe this man is still in the area?

JONES: Well, you know, there's a lot of places that a person could hide here in West Virginia or in the -- we have a lot of valleys, we have a lot of mountains, we have a lot of ridges, and somebody could hide here. But we have to operate on the theory that he is, in fact, still in the area.

And, of course, we have to worry here about: Will there another shooting? We've only had one shooting in Charleston related to this. So, we hope there won't be another one.

HARRIS: How worried do you think Charlestonians are about this?

JONES: I don't think the everyday operations of business have been affected too much. I think what you'll see at night, you will see these convenience stores, which operate somewhat alone anyway, I think you'll see a lot less traffic. And my own personal observation is that's, in fact, what's happened. But as far as at the malls or the different parts of our very beautiful city, I think that things are somewhat normal.

HARRIS: All right. Finally, Mayor, one last question about that picture. That picture, was it put together using the description of only one person? Or are you getting a number of different people telling you that this is the guy? This is at least what the guy looks like?

JONES: As I understand it, several people were interviewed and agreed on that picture. And so, it came from more than one person.

HARRIS: Mayor Danny Jones, we sure do appreciate your time. Good luck. We'll be watching to see how all this turns out.

JONES: OK.

HARRIS: We wish you and the Charlestonians the very best of luck in coming to some sort of resolution in this case. Take care.

JONES: Thank you, Leon.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.





Weapon>


Aired August 22, 2003 - 11:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Up first this hour on CNN, the West Virginia sniper case. Police are now, for the first time, positively linking all three killings in the Charleston area to the same crime -- the same firearm, I should say.
CNN investigative correspondent Art Harris begins our coverage this hour.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ART HARRIS, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A young mother at a gas station, a father buying milk, a mechanic using this pay phone, all murder victims, now bound together by one final ballistics report.

CHIEF JERRY PAULEY, CHARLESTON POLICE: It does positively link the three bullets together. They all three came from the same weapon.

HARRIS: Three shots out of the dark, fired from a rifle.

PAULEY: They were all .22-caliber, some type of rifle. That's all we know at this time.

HARRIS: The last test tied in the first murder -- that of 44- year-old Gary Carrier, shot down 12 nights ago while talking on a gas station phone. Any evidence of drug connections?

PAULEY: No.

HARRIS: A one-word answer, undercutting previous hints that this sniper mystery in Charleston, West Virginia, may somehow be drug- related.

Police are still looking for a large, dark pickup truck. This animation recreates such a truck stopped at another shooting scene. But there is no link between a truck and the Gary Carrier murder.

PAULEY: No, we didn't have any indication of a vehicle at all at our Go-Mart in the city.

HARRIS: Overnight, investigators released this sketch of a man, who witnesses say is the driver of a dark pickup spotted at the location of the last two murders a week ago.

(END VIDEOTAPE) Since police released the sketch last night, they say their phones have been ringing with callers saying they recognize the man, and providing dozens of different names to check out -- from friends to acquaintances to at least one known criminal -- Leon.

HARRIS: All right, thank you very much, Art -- Art Harris reporting live for us from Charleston, West Virginia.

Quite a few developments to talk about in this case that have happened -- that have come now up in the last couple of hours. The sniper shootings in the town of Charleston and the surrounding area are now really putting the people there on edge, as you might imagine.

Well, joining us now with a bit more on the investigation and just how the community is coping, Charleston Mayor Danny Jones.

Mayor Jones, glad to have you back with us this morning, and it appears as though there is some momentum building up finally, huh?

MAYOR DANNY JONES, CHARLESTON, WEST VIRGINIA: Nice to see you.

HARRIS: Now, do you feel like you have some momentum building right now, Mayor?

JONES: I'm sorry. I couldn't hear your question.

HARRIS: I'm sorry. I can tell that it sounds like there is a lot of truck generator noise there in the background. I'll try it again and speak a little more slowly.

It seems as though there is some more momentum now developing in this case now. Do you get a sense of that?

JONES: Yes, I do. I think with the sketch that's out there and the picture of the truck and the fact that the phones are ringing at the task force, I think that there is some momentum moving here. And there are about 100 people in the building not too far from here and a lot of federal agents that are working very hard to catch this individual and bring him to justice.

HARRIS: I want to ask you about something that has been floated in the press in the last 24 hours or so, the idea there may be drugs involved here in this particular case. I believe your sheriff had made some sort of a statement about that. What do you make of that? Do you think -- is that still a part of the investigation at this point?

JONES: That has not been established by the task force. That's the sheriff operating on his own theory, perhaps through his own department. The task force has not established that, and right now it's so completely premature to say that.

There has been established somewhat of a disconnect between the statements the sheriff has been making and the task force. Last night, the sheriff presented himself to the task force and joined in their meeting this morning. And, as I understand it, there will be a press conference today with the sheriff, with the chief of police, and hopefully everybody will be singing off the same sheet of music.

HARRIS: Well, speaking of sheets, right now there is a sheet of paper with a composite drawing of a possible suspect in this case that's being circulated right now. Can you give us an idea of what you're hearing in terms of the phone calls that you're getting right now since this picture has been published and has actually been put out there in the public?

JONES: Well, just a lot of what Art said -- a lot of folks that have seen this individual. And quite frankly, he looks somewhat familiar to me, even though I can't put a name to it, but that could be because I have seen it so many times. But the fact that they hooked that face up to one known criminal means that there may be something happening here. And hopefully, the task force will come up with a conclusion that may find out who this individual is.

HARRIS: You know, Mayor, with that picture being published now and seeing that this -- and there is so much talk now about describing of the vehicle as well that's out there, what makes you believe this man is still in the area?

JONES: Well, you know, there's a lot of places that a person could hide here in West Virginia or in the -- we have a lot of valleys, we have a lot of mountains, we have a lot of ridges, and somebody could hide here. But we have to operate on the theory that he is, in fact, still in the area.

And, of course, we have to worry here about: Will there another shooting? We've only had one shooting in Charleston related to this. So, we hope there won't be another one.

HARRIS: How worried do you think Charlestonians are about this?

JONES: I don't think the everyday operations of business have been affected too much. I think what you'll see at night, you will see these convenience stores, which operate somewhat alone anyway, I think you'll see a lot less traffic. And my own personal observation is that's, in fact, what's happened. But as far as at the malls or the different parts of our very beautiful city, I think that things are somewhat normal.

HARRIS: All right. Finally, Mayor, one last question about that picture. That picture, was it put together using the description of only one person? Or are you getting a number of different people telling you that this is the guy? This is at least what the guy looks like?

JONES: As I understand it, several people were interviewed and agreed on that picture. And so, it came from more than one person.

HARRIS: Mayor Danny Jones, we sure do appreciate your time. Good luck. We'll be watching to see how all this turns out.

JONES: OK.

HARRIS: We wish you and the Charlestonians the very best of luck in coming to some sort of resolution in this case. Take care.

JONES: Thank you, Leon.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.





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