ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, December 30, 1995 TAG: 9601020054
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
A fugitive being sought on charges of killing two people and wounding two others in 1989 might have been in Roanoke over the holiday, but a police search of a Hunt Avenue Northwest apartment last week failed to locate Thomas Manuel Paige.
Paige has been at large since he was indicted on charges of capital murder six years ago, after two young women were shot in the head and killed when a night of smoking crack at a Staunton Avenue Northwest house reportedly led to a dispute over who would pay for the drugs.
Paige, who goes by the nickname of T.J., also is being sought on charges of malicious wounding in connection with the shooting of a man and woman who were also at the all-night gathering on Staunton Avenue.
The 28-year-old man became a suspect shortly after the May 27, 1989 shooting, and Roanoke police have been looking for him ever since.
"We get people calling in with tips on him periodically, but we still haven't located him," Lt. W.J. Beason said Friday.
The most recent tip came last week, when a police informant said he spotted Paige coming and going from an apartment in the 3600 block of Hunt Avenue.
Police obtained a search warrant and raided the apartment on Dec. 21, but found no sign of Paige.
Authorities believe that Paige initially fled the state, although he may be staying in contact with friends or relatives in Roanoke. Police have tracked down leads that placed him in New York and San Francisco, but with no success.
If he is apprehended, Paige would be returned to Roanoke to face trial on charges of killing Debra Jean Salters, 20, and Sylvia LaVern Baker, 18. He also is charged with the malicious wounding of Joyce L. Washington, who was shot once in the neck, and Wilfred L. Branch, who was struck four times in the shoulder and abdomen by gunfire.
In a search warrant filed last week in Roanoke Circuit Court, Paige was described as a black male with black hair and brown eyes, 6 feet 5, and weighing about 250 pounds. The man spotted by the informant was wearing a black-and-white plaid flannel insulated shirt, black jeans and brown boots.
LENGTH: Short : 48 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Paige. color. KEYWORDS: ROMURby CNB