ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, December 31, 1996 TAG: 9612310109
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
Roanoke police have identified the two bodies found last week in a Day Avenue Southwest apartment, but it could be days before they know exactly how the men died.
Spencer J. Dickason, 54, who lived in an upstairs apartment at 429 Day, and Odell Hairston, 44, of the 1400 block of Staunton Avenue were found Friday afternoon by a maintenance worker after a neighbor complained of a bad odor coming from the apartment.
Police estimated that the men had been dead at least a week. The bodies were so decomposed that it was difficult for a medical examiner to identify the men and determine how they died.
An autopsy found that Dickason and Hairston were each shot once in the head with a gun that was similar to one found next to one of the bodies.
Authorities are awaiting the results of additional forensic tests - including one for gunshot residue that might indicate whether one of the men had recently fired a gun - as they attempt to determine whether the deaths were a murder-suicide or a double homicide.
Because the apartment was locked and there were no signs of forced entry, murder-suicide was considered likely.
Last Friday, residents of the apartment house and nearby homes recalled hearing gunshots the night of Dec.19. But apparently no one bothered to call police.
Dickason, a veteran, had lived alone in the apartment for about a year. Neighbors said he was a quiet man who often sat on the front porch, reading a book.
Dickason had a lot of visitors, many of them late at night, neighbors said. Authorities were trying to determine Monday why Hairston was in the apartment.
In other police reports Monday:
* A patrol officer who heard shots Saturday night in the 2000 block of Hanover Avenue Northwest saw three young men getting into a car. When he ordered them to get out, one of the youths ran. As the officer pursued, he saw the boy turn around and reach into his jacket. At that point, the youth tripped - dropping a handgun as he fell. The 17-year-old, who resisted arrest and had to be subdued with pepper spray, was charged with carrying a concealed weapon.
* A 72-year-old man was beaten and robbed Saturday afternoon by three men who knocked on the door of his Chapman Avenue Southwest home and offered to sell him cigarettes. After striking Melvin R. Brannon in the head with a handgun, the men searched his pants pockets and took a wallet containing more than $500.
LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines KEYWORDS: FATALITYby CNB