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Martinsville Police Patrol Officer Ronnie Wray (left) and Investigator Andy Boitnott work at the scene of Tuesday afternoon’s shooting at an apartment complex on Pony Place. (Contributed photo) |
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
By DEBBIE HALL - Bulletin Staff Writer
Police are looking for two suspects in Tuesday’s wounding of a Martinsville man.
The incident occurred at an apartment complex at 102 Pony Place shortly after noon, according to Scott Coleman, public information officer for the city.
The victim, Jerome Shelton, 46, of 102 Pony Place, Apartment 6, was being treated at Memorial Hospital in Martinsville on Tuesday evening, Coleman said. He did not know Shelton’s condition but said his injuries did not appear to be life-threatening.
Shelton was shot once in his left forearm and had a laceration to his forehead, according to a city news release.
Shelton told police that he might have seen the two male suspects before, but he does not know who they are, Coleman said. Shelton also told police the men also robbed him of about $200 in cash.
Coleman did not know if robbery was the motive or “just happened in the process” of the crime, he said.
Witnesses told investigators that two adult males — one black and the other light skinned, perhaps Hispanic or white — arrived at the complex in a light blue Chevrolet Malibu, Coleman said.
The two took co-axial cable and hard hats from the trunk of the vehicle and proceeded to a common area in the complex’s basement, he said.
There are three levels in the building plus the basement, which has a TV and washer/dryer in the common area, Coleman said.
The two men “hung around as if doing work,” Coleman said. They then went up the stairs to Apartment 6, which is on the second floor.
“We’re not sure how entry was made” into the apartment, Coleman said. There were no apparent signs of forced entry, he added.
“I don’t know if the apartment was unlocked. There is also the possibility they may have been let in. We don’t know conclusively yet,” Coleman said.
Inside the apartment, “there were obvious signs of a struggle,” Coleman said. “We know at least one gunshot was fired.”
Some witnesses reported hearing more shots, Coleman said.
Afterward, the two men were seen leaving the parking lot, traveling “up Pony Place,” Coleman said. “No one has seen the vehicle since.”
Shelton was taken to the hospital by a female who also is a resident of the complex, Coleman said. The female also summoned help, Coleman said. That call came in to the 911 Center at 12:35 p.m.
The tag number of the Chevrolet was not known Tuesday afternoon, but witnesses said it was a North Carolina tag, according to Coleman.
Police hope more witnesses will contact them or that those who have helped with the investigation will remember more details or be able to provide a more detailed description, Coleman said.
Anyone with any information is urged to call the Martinsville Police Department at 638-8751. |
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