Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 27, 1994 TAG: 9407280071
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
He filled out a state police application as required by law, writing "no" next to a question that asks if the applicant has ever been convicted of a felony, according to Joe Boone, a firearms agent with the Wytheville division of the state police.
But Deel was a convicted felon. He was found guilty of burglary and grand larceny in Dickenson County in 1971, according to Boone.
When Deel completed the form, the shop's owner, whose name was not released Tuesday, followed firearm purchase regulations and telephoned the state police to initiate a background check on Deel. Minutes later, state police checked his criminal record and denied the purchase.
Four days later, though, the gun Deel attempted to buy was used in the killing of Robert Jarrells in the Endicott community of Franklin County. A Franklin County grand jury will consider first-degree murder charges against Deel on Monday.
How the gun left the pawn shop is under investigation by the state police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
The gun was not reported stolen by the shop owner, according to Boone. Investigators also said the owner of the shop knew Deel - who visited the store from time to time.
A message left on an answering machine at Barton's Pawn Shop was not returned Tuesday.
Tim Harris, an investigator with the Salem division of the state police, said additional charges of making a false statement to purchase a gun and possession of a gun after being convicted of a felony have been filed against Deel.
Deel's attorney, Wayne Inge of Roanoke, said of the new charges, "In the big picture of things, so what? He's charged with first-degree murder."
On April 15, Robert Jarrells, 59, was found on a porch at his Endicott home, shot several times in the head and lower body. He never regained consciousness and died a day later at Roanoke Memorial Hospital.
Deel was apprehended by Franklin County deputies in a field not far from Jarrells' home on the afternoon of the shooting. Jarrells' wife, Judy, was home at the time of the incident and later identified Deel as the man who shot her husband, said Franklin County Sheriff W.Q. Overton.
Judy Jarrells, who called 911 to report the shooting, told investigators Deel attacked her and she managed to get away.
Deel, 45, and Judy Jarrells, 43, are acquaintances, Overton said.
Inge said "more details than you'll want to know" will be revealed if Deel goes to trial.
Overton and Franklin County Commonwealth's Attorney Cliff Hapgood both said Tuesday that the investigation remains open.
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB