THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, January 15, 1996 TAG: 9601150048
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
A Virginia Beach couple found their car targeted by gunmen, for no apparent reason, while driving along Interstate 264 early Sunday. The couple were not hurt.
And despite the scare, they were able to give police a detailed description of the car, resulting in two arrests, said Tammy Van Dame of the State Police.
The shooting, Van Dame said, was ``a random act.'' The victims and the men charged do not appear to have known each other, she said, and there is no known provocation for the incident. ``It doesn't appear to have any motive, and the suspects have not disclosed any motive,'' Van Dame said.
The couple, whose names were not released, were returning home when the shooting occurred about 2:20 a.m., Van Dame said.
The couple said they were heading east in the left lane about a half-mile before they reached the Military Highway interchange when a car abruptly pulled behind them. The car switched to the center lane and pulled up beside the couple on the passenger side.
The couple told police they saw someone in the car point a gun at them and open fire. Bullets hit the back of the car.
``The couple got a very good look at the occupants and the vehicle,'' Van Dame said.
By that point, the cars were at the split of I-264. The car holding the gunmen veered to the right, eventually getting off at Newtown Road.
The couple, in the through lanes, were unable to exit until they reached Witchduck Road. They called 911 from a convenience store.
About 3:15 a.m., Van Dame said a state police trooper and Virginia Beach officer spotted a vehicle matching the description supplied by the couple. The car was pulled over on Virginia Beach Boulevard.
Police found a 9mm handgun under the passenger seat of the car, Van Dame said. The two matched the description provided by the couple, she said.
Police charged two Norfolk men - Anthony H. Tripp, 21, of the 400 block of Peace Haven Drive, and Melvin M. Taylor, 24, whose address was unknown - with shooting into an occupied vehicle and with illegally shooting a gun.
Both men also were charged with possession of marijuana; Taylor is wanted in New York on a drug charge stemming from 1992, Van Dame said.
The men were being held Sunday without bond in the Norfolk City Jail.
KEYWORDS: ARREST SHOOTING I-264 by CNB