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Police seek man who drew gun on couple after I-64 accident
By STEVE STONE, The Virginian-Pilot
© July 3, 2006 | Last updated 10:22 PM Jul. 2

It was just a fender bender, but moments after a couple pulled off Interstate 64 early Saturday to report the crash, they were confronted by a passenger from the other car, pointing a gun at them.

The last thing he wanted was them calling police.

The gunman fired warning shots and forced the couple from their vehicle, and he took their cell phone and marched them down an embankment, Virginia State Police said.

Then he fled.

It was not a case of road rage, State Police spokesman Sgt. D.S. Carr said Sunday. Investigators think the gunman needed to avoid meeting up with troopers because he already was wanted.

The couple, though, might have put a crimp in his getaway plans. Although he took their phone, they still had a digital camera.

They used it to take a picture of the car he was in - and its license plate. That led to identifying a suspect.

Carr said Sunday that warrants have been issued for the arrest of a Williamsburg man, Christopher Ryan Piggott, 30, of the 8300 block of Crocker Road, in connection with the incident.

Piggott is charged with two counts of abduction, as well as robbery, using a gun in commission of a felony, firing a gun in public, brandishing a gun, possession of a gun by a convicted felon, reckless handling of a gun, driving with a suspended license, and hit and run.

The incident unfolded about 6:30 a.m. Saturday along westbound I-64 in Newport News.


First, the victim's vehicle and the Mitsubishi in which Piggott was a passenger collided on the highway, Carr said.

"It was minor," Carr said. "There was no major damage."

Both cars pulled off the highway onto the Lee Hall neighborhood exit and stopped along the side of the exit ramp.

One of the victims was on a cell phone, "trying to call us," Carr said, when a man from the other car walked up. "He told them to h ang it up and give it to him."

Carr said the man had a gun and shot it once in the air and once toward the ground.

He ordered the couple out of their car and forced them down an embankment into the woods, Carr said.

Then he ran back to the car and left, Carr said.

The couple scrambled back to the road where they took a picture of his car and the license plate, Carr said.

Police used the photograph to trace the vehicle to its owner and identified Piggott as the suspected gunman, Carr said. Piggott already was wanted in James City County on charges stemming from an incident a day earlier, Carr said. The nature of the prior charges against Piggott could not be confirmed Sunday.

"He was afraid if we came out to the scene, we might run his name for warrants," Carr said.

Piggott has a history of run-ins with the law , dating back at least to 1997, according to court records available on the Internet. Among the more serious incidents:

He was sentenced to three years in prison in 1999 in the Williamsburg/James City County Circuit Court on a charge of assault and battery on a police officer. All but six months were suspended. In the same trial, he also was convicted on two counts of destruction of property.

In May 2002, in the same court, he was sentenced to six months in jail, with all but two days suspended, on a conviction for obstructing justice. He also was found guilty of disorderly conduct.

In April 2003, he was sentenced in Newport News Circuit Court to 12 months in jail, with eight months suspended, for assault and battery on a police officer; to five months in jail, with all but one month suspended, for drunken driving; and to three years in prison, with all but six months suspended, on a drug charge.

He also was found guilty of driving with a suspended license.

Carr did not release the name of the driver of the car in which Piggott rode.

Carr also did not release the names of the couple, which he said was to protect them.

Both are Japanese and spoke little or no English . An interpreter had to be called to assist police, Carr said.

Piggott is described as black, 5 feet 11 inches tall and 165 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.

Goes by the alias "Saleen311"
He was last seen speeding away in a Black Ford Mustang with it tails tucked under its Virginia license plate.

http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=106999&ran=46040
 
Police seek man who drew gun on couple after I-64 accident
By STEVE STONE, The Virginian-Pilot
© July 3, 2006 | Last updated 10:22 PM Jul. 2

It was just a fender bender, but moments after a couple pulled off Interstate 64 early Saturday to report the crash, they were confronted by a passenger from the other car, pointing a gun at them.

The last thing he wanted was them calling police.

The gunman fired warning shots and forced the couple from their vehicle, and he took their cell phone and marched them down an embankment, Virginia State Police said.

Then he fled.

It was not a case of road rage, State Police spokesman Sgt. D.S. Carr said Sunday. Investigators think the gunman needed to avoid meeting up with troopers because he already was wanted.

The couple, though, might have put a crimp in his getaway plans. Although he took their phone, they still had a digital camera.

They used it to take a picture of the car he was in - and its license plate. That led to identifying a suspect.

Carr said Sunday that warrants have been issued for the arrest of a Williamsburg man, Christopher Ryan Piggott, 30, of the 8300 block of Crocker Road, in connection with the incident.

Piggott is charged with two counts of abduction, as well as robbery, using a gun in commission of a felony, firing a gun in public, brandishing a gun, possession of a gun by a convicted felon, reckless handling of a gun, driving with a suspended license, and hit and run.

The incident unfolded about 6:30 a.m. Saturday along westbound I-64 in Newport News.


First, the victim's vehicle and the Mitsubishi in which Piggott was a passenger collided on the highway, Carr said.

"It was minor," Carr said. "There was no major damage."

Both cars pulled off the highway onto the Lee Hall neighborhood exit and stopped along the side of the exit ramp.

One of the victims was on a cell phone, "trying to call us," Carr said, when a man from the other car walked up. "He told them to h ang it up and give it to him."

Carr said the man had a gun and shot it once in the air and once toward the ground.

He ordered the couple out of their car and forced them down an embankment into the woods, Carr said.

Then he ran back to the car and left, Carr said.

The couple scrambled back to the road where they took a picture of his car and the license plate, Carr said.

Police used the photograph to trace the vehicle to its owner and identified Piggott as the suspected gunman, Carr said. Piggott already was wanted in James City County on charges stemming from an incident a day earlier, Carr said. The nature of the prior charges against Piggott could not be confirmed Sunday.

"He was afraid if we came out to the scene, we might run his name for warrants," Carr said.

Piggott has a history of run-ins with the law , dating back at least to 1997, according to court records available on the Internet. Among the more serious incidents:

He was sentenced to three years in prison in 1999 in the Williamsburg/James City County Circuit Court on a charge of assault and battery on a police officer. All but six months were suspended. In the same trial, he also was convicted on two counts of destruction of property.

In May 2002, in the same court, he was sentenced to six months in jail, with all but two days suspended, on a conviction for obstructing justice. He also was found guilty of disorderly conduct.

In April 2003, he was sentenced in Newport News Circuit Court to 12 months in jail, with eight months suspended, for assault and battery on a police officer; to five months in jail, with all but one month suspended, for drunken driving; and to three years in prison, with all but six months suspended, on a drug charge.

He also was found guilty of driving with a suspended license.

Carr did not release the name of the driver of the car in which Piggott rode.

Carr also did not release the names of the couple, which he said was to protect them.

Both are Japanese and spoke little or no English . An interpreter had to be called to assist police, Carr said.

Piggott is described as black, 5 feet 11 inches tall and 165 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.

Goes by the alias "Saleen311"
He was last seen speeding away in a Black Ford Mustang with it tails tucked under its Virginia license plate.

http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=106999&ran=46040

Good job finding an article from 2006