Officials Increase Reward for West Virginia Shootings
CHARLESTON, W.Va.-- A joint task force investigating three sniper-style shootings in West Virginia announced Monday it is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the identification of the killer. The task force's announcement came nearly two months after three Kanawha County residents were fatally shot outside convenience stores late at night.
Jeanie Patton, 31, and Okey Meadows Jr., 26, were killed in separate shootings about 10 miles apart on Aug. 14. Patton was killed while pumping gas in Campbells Creek, W.Va., while Meadows was killed about 90 minutes later buying milk at a pay window in Cedar Grove, W.Va. Gary Carrier Jr., 44, of South Charleston, W.Va., was shot Aug. 10 outside a Charleston, W.Va., convenience store while talking on a pay telephone. All three were shot with the same .22-caliber weapon, likely a rifle. No motive has been determined.
"I think the motive is still unclear and may well remain so until we make an arrest," Joe Ciccarelli, FBI supervisory senior resident agent, told the Associated Press.
Investigators have said they are looking for a heavyset man with a goatee believed to have been driving a late model, dark-colored, two-tone Ford F-150 pickup. The pickup was seen near the Campbells Creek and Cedar Grove stores before Patton and Meadows were killed.
Investigators have received about 2,400 tips since the shootings and are pursuing about 300 leads, the report said.
Jeanie Patton, 31, and Okey Meadows Jr., 26, were killed in separate shootings about 10 miles apart on Aug. 14. Patton was killed while pumping gas in Campbells Creek, W.Va., while Meadows was killed about 90 minutes later buying milk at a pay window in Cedar Grove, W.Va. Gary Carrier Jr., 44, of South Charleston, W.Va., was shot Aug. 10 outside a Charleston, W.Va., convenience store while talking on a pay telephone. All three were shot with the same .22-caliber weapon, likely a rifle. No motive has been determined.
"I think the motive is still unclear and may well remain so until we make an arrest," Joe Ciccarelli, FBI supervisory senior resident agent, told the Associated Press.
Investigators have said they are looking for a heavyset man with a goatee believed to have been driving a late model, dark-colored, two-tone Ford F-150 pickup. The pickup was seen near the Campbells Creek and Cedar Grove stores before Patton and Meadows were killed.
Investigators have received about 2,400 tips since the shootings and are pursuing about 300 leads, the report said.